Soul's Potential
by Himesayuri Phoenix
Summary: Memories of the Mod-Soul Rebellion in their 4th year still haunting them, Akemi, Taiki and the others graduate Academy and enter the Gotei 13. But the transition isn't necessarily an easy one, when certain things refuse to stay in the past...
1. Prologue

Soul's Potential

AN:

If you haven't read Soul's Beginning, it's recommended. This is the second story in the series, and if you don't read the first, you probably won't know what's going on.

But it's up to you.

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Soul's Potential

Prologue

It was happening again, just like before.

We were late; that's where it started. By the time Taiki showed up and we were shoved unceremoniously through the portal by our 6th year proctor, Kitahara, the 15 Hollow sims had already been released.

Our hurried start had me disoriented. It was our first foray into the Living World, a graded exercise we'd fail if we didn't locate and eliminate at least one Hollow, and the other teams had a head start. I, as the only 4th year from the Advanced Class, was the leader of a team of three – Taiki, and two of his classmates, Kenzaburo and Miru. If we failed, it would be my fault.

I gave orders without even taking time to look around; there _was_ no time. "Split up. If you see a Hollow sim, don't engage. Meet back here in ten minutes."

Taiki held up a short-range radio, part of a set we'd been given. "What about these?"

"Leave them."

"_What?"_ the other two exclaimed.

"If that thing goes off near a Hollow, you'll be noticed."

"They've got headphones," Miru started.

"Hollows have extremely sensitive hearing. There's a reason we are trained to walk silently, and a reason we don't use these things on real missions."

"These aren't _real _Hollows," Ken said, making a skeptical face.

"That doesn't mean you should underestimate them," I cautioned. "Best use our practice exercises to prepare for the real thing."

There was no further argument, and we dropped the radios and split.

Only as I began seriously scouting did I get a good look at my surroundings and suck in a deep breath.

The Living World – even this sectioned-off area, protected by a barrier to keep humans out, in the dead of night – the place was more alive than anything I had ever seen. I'd always imagined the Living World would be like Rukongai, the only city I'd ever known…but it was nothing like it, nothing at all. Metal buildings, scale-roofed houses, glass windows. Electric lighting – everything was lit up, even at night. At one point, even the very sky flashed crimson. Everything was moving, everything was fast.

I was in awe, lost in it all. I stopped on a rooftop long enough to gaze out past the barrier boundary into the tall metal jungle, at the rivers of moving lights winding between them. It occurred to me that it was on one of those raised, gargantuan concrete roads that Taiki had met his end as a human.

The great, atmosphere-shattering roar from behind caused my hair and hakama to blow forward and almost sent me toppling off the roof-top. I turned. Before I could even register that Hollow sims didn't roar, before I had the time to do anything but fumble at my brand-new katana, the massive pointy-nosed creature had crashed a foot down on the roof. I went flying.

Rubble landed on top of my legs, and the thing was bearing down on me with a massive grin.

_**Shinigami. Tasty…**_

__I cringed, unable to do anything else to fend off the inevitable.

A flash of light against metal, and my legs felt lighter. The rubble had all been flung off of me. In front of me, nothing but black uniform back and blond ponytail visible to me, Taiki swung his sword to block the oncoming arm of the Hollow. He blocked it, and the two remained in a deadlock in mid-swing, a stalemate.

His body clearly straining under the pressure, Taiki turned to me and yelled. "The barrier failed. Get out of here!"

I scrambled to my feet, legs bruised and painful, and stuttered, "But I can't just leave you here…!"

"I have to hold this thing off until you get reinforcements. So hurry up and get your ass to Kitahara and ask for help!" He said it with a shaky grin; his feet slid in the rubble under the pressure, and the Hollow withdrew his arm to ready for another strike. "I said go!"

I went, running as fast as my injuries would allow, dizzy with panic.

_**Akemi**_**.**

Before my eyes, even as I ran, my surroundings melted away, shifting from dark metal crags to gentle white walls, cherry trees covered with both blossoms and an early snow, which also covered the enclosed little courtyard.

My home, in winter. Or perhaps early spring.

I skidded to a halt in front of the girl whose voice had called to me, causing the shift.

"Ancestor."

She shook her head, shoulder-length black hair falling into deep purple eyes. "How many times must I correct you?" She sat on a bench, but stood as I approached to allow me to rest, white robes rippling as she did.

"Rest. You are tired from your nightmares."

"Nightmares." As she said it, I knew it to be true. Yes, the scene had been real once…once, when I was younger. I was a 6th year now, nearing graduation; no longer the fresh, naïve 4th year who had endangered her squad and needed rescue.

"You weren't the only one needing rescue," the girl said, eyeing me like she could see my thoughts. "Many needed rescue, that day. The true Hollows were unexpected. If anything your actions protected those in your care. The other two; they escaped danger because unlike the others they were not given away by the crackling of a radio."

"It shouldn't have been able to sneak up on me. That huge beast…" I put my head in my hands, not wanting to look at her; feeling ashamed. The bruises and injuries to my legs had faded with the scene change, but still shook. "I almost died. I failed."

"You learned." The girl, a frequent companion in my dreams, wandered over and

examined the inexplicable pink blossoms. "Without confidence, you cannot improve."

"But I thought you just said I learned."

She looked over her shoulder at me. "But did you improve?"

It was difficult to hide my frustration from her. I'd always felt somehow inferior to the girl, like she was some sort of _kami_ from legend instead of a mere dream. When she got all mysterious, though, it irritated me.

"You wouldn't understand."

She laughed, a beautiful ringing sound. "On the contrary, Akemi. It is you who have no understanding. Of your potential, your self, or even me."

I stood, steadier. "You? All you ever do is talk about _me_, and you expect me to understand _you?_" I sat back down, vaguely aggravated. "You won't even tell me your name."

She laughed again. "But I have told you, many times. You simply won't listen. I am "

All went black as the dream faded. I awoke, still restless, and filled with a vague longing and a sense of inadequacy that I couldn't quite explain.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The next morning I woke late, feeling still un-rested, and went to attend my last official class ever at the Shinigami Academy.

It happened to be Specialties, a class unique to the Advanced group. We'd been split at the start of our 4th year into the Advanced class and Non-Advanced classes, instead of our original homerooms. Only the top 1/3rd of our year with the top composite exam scores at that time – those supposedly destined for high seats or Captaincy – made the cut. Kaede, Hiroki and I were the only ones from my group who made it, and Hiroki only barely.

Technically Hideki made it too, but declared it "too much work" and left.

Specialties was different every week. This last class had been set up as a review in a number of areas, and we were allowed to choose with teacher to work with. I already had a shunpo lesson scheduled for the afternoon, so I chose advanced kidou. Kaede joined me.

As we watched in line while a pair of students practiced for the instructor, Kaede leaned over and whispered. "Are you all right? You weren't at breakfast and you look tired."

"I'm fine. Just didn't get much sleep last night."

A flash of fire, from one student, was negated by a high-level counter-spell from the other student.

"I was dreaming about 4th year again," I added, eyes on the drill but mind unengaged with it.

"The mod-soul rebellion?" Kaede raised an eyebrow.

"The first battle, yeah. Where they broke into training and lured Hollows in."

"Crazy to think that was not even three years ago," Kaede said. "I still felt so fresh and incompetent during all that. And here we are, about to graduate. Things change, huh?"

_Sure._ "Yeah," was all I said.

Our turn came up and I was forced to focus on the kidou in order to perform it correctly without the incantation.

"Good!" the instructor shouted out. "Next!"

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I was totally exhausted. I mean my body was doing all right – six years of training don't just do nothing to one's stamina – but my brain was just exhausted.

Raiko, Hideki, Ran and I all collapsed simultaneously at our lunch table.

"You guys as tired as I am?"

They nodded, but before they could say (or in Raiko's case, sign) anything, Akemi, Kaede and Hiroki joined us, taking their seats.

"Thank goodness that's over...can you believe we just finished our very last shinigami class?" Akemi asked with a sigh but a smile, eyeing her sushi bar selections hungrily.

Raiko shook her head.

"Not like we're exactly done yet, though," Kaede said, also settling into her lunch.

I slammed my head forward on the table, causing a few stares but not caring. "Man, finals are next! Honestly, can you believe old man Tanuki expects us to know all 63 kidou by Tuesday?" It was hopeless.

"Not only that," Kaede said, slurping down some ramen in between words. "You guys have heard the rumors about the final in swords, right? In both classes." She sent a pointed look at me with that last bit, for some reason.

"No?" I said.

Raiko signed something rapidly.

Ran translated, as always. "Raiko says she hasn't heard them either, but she wants to."

Kaede laughed nervously. "Don't be so sure you do."

It was Akemi who finally filled us in. "Well, the _rumor_ is you have to take on the teacher one on one in true battle."

I cheered. "Yes! I can handle that!"

"That, or something about being killed," Akemi mumbled. "But obviously they're joking…"

"It may not be the teacher though," Kaede added.

"Yeah," Hiroki said through a mouthful of Chinese dumplings. "_I_ heard it's the Commander General himself!"

Across from me, I saw Akemi pale.

"That old fart?" I said. "He hasn't kicked the bucket yet?"

Raiko frowned and signed.

"She says that's got to just be a rumor though," Ran said, then added, "Hey Raiko, are you going to eat that pudding?"

Raiko shook her head, handed it to Ran, and they engaged in a quiet signed conversation between the two of them; I lost interest.

Hideki spoke. "It seems foolish to do something that would get all the new recruits killed. He's Commander General for a reason – the best there is. They'll probably just bring in some of our sempai from the Gotei 13 to test our strength."

"Koji was top of his class," Akemi considered. "He's seated 11th you know. Maybe it'll be him?"

I grumbled. "That bastard? I hope so. I could take 'im."

Akemi frowned at me, but said nothing.

After the falling out 1st year, despite the quiet protestations of the Jakushi girl (who admittedly seemed all right) and Koji's eventual apologies, Akemi hadn't spoken to him for almost three years. But he kept on apologizing, and finally, as pre-4th year exams drew near, she'd gone to him for advice. I wasn't happy about it, after all I'd done to save her from him, but they'd maintained a loose sort of tutoring relationship ever since.

Admittedly it had done her good; she was top of our class, now. But I still _really_ wished he'd stay away from her.

"Anyway, we've got other things to worry about," she said finally.

Raiko and Ran were still deep in their own conversation.

"Speaking of which," I said, mind wandering back to my final class, "Hide, what's the incantation for Hadou 33 again? I forgot."

"Oh ruler of …something…something…crap," he said, finally giving up. "I need to study more. I totally had that one down."

"Oh ruler, mask of flesh and blood, all creations of the universe, fluttering of the wings, ye who bears the name of man. Truth and temperance, strike but slightly your claw upon this wall which feigns ignorance of sin…" Hiroki rolled off without even trying.

"What else would it be?" Akemi asked, skeptical glance at both Hideki and I. She then glanced over at Ran. "Hey, Ran? What's up?"

Ran looked over from her animated sign conversation with Raiko and grinned. "Oh, not much, Akemi. What's up with you?"

I snickered.

"I meant, what's up with Raiko?" she corrected. "We can't understand, remember?"

"Oh! Well she's just worried about the Kidou final, you know."

I was too, but tried not to let it show. I've got a reputation to keep up, after all.

"Oh, of course," Akemi said. "But Rai-san, I wouldn't worry if I were you. You've practiced really hard and you should get extra points for voiceless casting, even if you can only do some of them."

"More than some, still," Kaede said with a pointed glance at me, and Hideki at my left.

"What?" I challenged. She said nothing.

Raiko made a hesitant face.

Hiroki, sitting next to Raiko on the other side as Ran, put his arm around her. "You'll be fine. After all, bypassing takes complete mastery of the kidou. That's more than most have."

Raiko looked a bit reassured. I guess there's a reason the two had been dating since fourth year.

"But when I said we had other stuff to worry about," Akemi said suddenly, "I wasn't talking about finals."

Raiko signed.

"She wants to know what you mean," Ran asked.

"The ride-along examinations, of course," Kaede answered for her.

Akemi nodded, and sighed.

"Ride-a-….what?" I said.

Akemi looked over at me. "You've _got_ to be kidding. Please tell me you're kidding." When I gave her a blank look, she said, "Don't you remember all those Division Entrance applications you filled out this week?" And after another blank pause, "You _did_ fill them out, right?"

Ran laughed in reaction to something Raiko signed. "She says you're weird, Taiki. How could you not remember the ride-along exams?"

I laughed nervously. "I wasn't asking for me. I was asking for…er…Hiroki's sake."

"Hey now!" Hiroki slammed a fist on the table.

"Chill," Hideki said.

Raiko laughed.

"Well, 'Hiroki,'" Akemi said, "the Divisions we applied to get into and who think they may want us based on our applications want to get a good first-hand look at our abilities. So they're taking us into the Division for a short period of time during Finals next week so the Captain and Vice can get a good look at us."

"And if you applied for multiple Divisions, you're likely to have to go to more than one ride-along," Kaede added with a sigh. "On top of final exams."

Raiko signed something.

"Which did you guys apply for?" Akemi asked.

Ran hesitated. "Raiko only applied for the 4th Division. I applied for five different

ones…" She looked vaguely panicked. "I didn't realize we'd have to do a ride-along for every single one!..."

"Let's just say, hypothetically speaking," I said, finally, "that someone didn't apply for any Divisions."

"I applied for three," Akemi was busy saying to Raiko and Ran. "Tenth, thirteenth and – " She stopped short when what I said processed. Everyone was staring at me. "How on earth did you think you were going to get into a Division?"

"I thought we were selected, you know…based on ability."

"You'd have a lot more to worry about then." Hideki snorted.

I glared at him. He and Hiroki both snickered.

"Well if I were you I'd hurry down to the department and apply for as many as you can," Akemi said. "Maybe one will be forgiving. We don't hear which ones we go to until tomorrow anyway."

"Well," I said, getting up very quickly with a glance at the cafeteria doors. "Yeah. I think I may…have to go do that…"

And I rushed down the hallway to the Academy offices, leaving my lunch behind.

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After Taiki hurried off, there were a few moments of complete silence, where we all stared after him.

Finally, still staring at the exit, Hiroki spoke. "But seriously, what would happen

if you didn't apply?"

Hideki smirked. "We may find out yet."

"Well, I imagine it would be the same thing that happens to people who don't get accepted to the squads they did apply for," I said. "Either retake Year 6 with the students who don't pass finals, or do grunt work for the Academy until next year's draft."

Raiko suddenly looked concerned and signed. Ran translated. "She wants to know what your chances are if you only signed up for one."

Kaede shrugged. "Depends on the Division."

"Fourth Div, right?" I said. "No problem for you, Raiko. Especially there. Div 4 has especially low standards – not that there's anything wrong with them!" I added when she frowned. "I just mean they're healers so they don't do as much combat, which makes their combat standards lower."

"And while you're in the Non-Advanced class, you've improved leagues since they sorted us," Kaede added.

Raiko relaxed visibly.

"So what about you boys?" I asked.

"I chose 3rd Div, 12th Div, and 8th Div," Hideki said.

"You didn't." Hiroki stared him down.

They began arguing incoherently.

I looked at the clock on the cafeteria wall. "I should probably be going."

"Where to?" Ran asked cheerily.

"Shunpo practice with Koji-sempai."

Kaede eyed me, but said nothing.

The twins were still arguing. "Look, all I'm saying is, do you have to copy me on _everything_?"

"But we didn't even fill out our forms together, how was I supposed to know?"

"Oh for crying out loud." Kaede turned her attention to the two for a moment. "I was there when both of you filled out your forms. There was no copying, so let it go. Can't you just admit you're more alike than you thought?" She turned back to me. "See you tomorrow, Akemi."

I stood and waved. "See you guys!"

Ran and Raiko waved, Raiko adding the sign for "see you later," one of the few I'd managed to pick up over the last six years.

Hideki and Hiroki both paused their arguing just long enough to yell out, "Bye!" simultaneously. "Dammit!" they added afterwards, and jumped back into their arguments.

As I walked down the hallway towards the practice area near the clerk's office where I knew Koji would soon be, Taiki came barreling down the hall toward me.

"Oh, Akemi! Are they still eating?"

"They were just finishing up. They'll probably be gone by the time you get there."

"Damn. Well, where are you headed?"

"Practice area." I resumed walking.

Taiki followed. "I'll walk you."

"Sure." I wasn't looking forward to seeing his reaction to meeting Koji, but I figured I could slip into the practice area on my own once we got there. "Did you manage to fill out any applications? You weren't gone long."

Taiki grumbled. "One. The only division that would take an application this late was 8th. Figures, the crazy captain. And I was so ready to be on the 12th Division after 1st year!"

"I thought you were undecided."

"Totally wanted to go to 12th."

"And how did you expect to get on it without applying?"

Taiki shrugged. "Whatever. Too late now, I guess. Not that I was ever much good at research anyway."

"Well, work hard at the ride-along. You've got a lot riding on it."

"You bet." Taiki gave me a thumbs up. "Anyway, this is your room right?"

I nodded; we'd reached the practice area.

"Well, I'll go catch up with the others. Later!"

"Later." I waved after him, and went in the room to find Koji waiting.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AN:

Welcome back all, and thanks for reading! I've gotten a pretty good reaction to this story so far, which makes me happy.

It's been brought to my attention by confused readers that my original formatting didn't copy over to this site, meaning all my page and paragraph breaks – which I used to denote time or character shifts – completely disappeared. Which basically means you all had no idea what's going on.

Sorry!!

I've now marked all page/paragraph breaks with a string of x's, so hopefully you won't be nearly as confused from now on!

Any other comments welcome.

My friend is writing Raiko's story as I speak, so as soon as it's posted, I'll let those who are interested know where it can be found.

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Chapter 2

We practiced all Saturday and Sunday: Kidou, shunpo, basic and complex theory and sword motions, politics we hadn't studied since we were in 3rd year. I think most of us felt better about most subjects after studying. There was no preparing for one exam though; rumors kept flying about the Swordsmanship exam. All we knew was that we'd all be in there at once, both classes; rumors as to what we'd be doing ranged from melee combat to death, but no one knew exactly what would really happen. We didn't have to wait long, however; the exam was the very first, early Monday morning, before even the Ride-Along acceptance list was to be posted.

I arrived outside the main Academy courtyard after a quick breakfast, just a hurried bowl of miso soup and a small salad, shortly before the beginning of the Exam. A large crowd had gathered already; every shinigami student in our year was about to take the exam all at once. I spotted Kaede, Hiroki, Raiko and Ran huddled off in a corner not far from the gateway.

"Mornin'," Kaede said, acting more tired than she looked.

"Morning." I yawned just looking at her. The others waved, but nobody moved much. I'm sure they were all as exhausted from studying as I was. Nobody knew what was ahead of us.

"There is no way I am ready for this," I said. Then I took a good look around for the first time. "Hold on. Has anybody seen Taiki?"

"We had early breakfast together," Hiroki said. "He didn't seem quite _there_, if you know what I mean."

"He'd better show up soon or he'll be disqualified," I said.

"Since when are you worried about Taiki?" Kaede asked, suddenly appearing interested.

"Not just Taiki-nii-chan," Ran said, saving me from any further explanation.

"Hideki-onii isn't here yet either."

"Probably sleeping in," Hiroki said, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly Raiko signed furiously and pointed. I didn't need Ran to translate; Taiki was making his way through the crowd, mumbling to himself. Not far behind was Hideki,

at a run.

"WOULD EVERYONE PLEASE ENTER THE ARENA!" Tebi-sensei's massive voice rang out, a little too close to our group, and Kaede rubbed at her ears. Beside her, Raiko frowned.

"Taiki! Hideki! Hurry up, over here!" Ran yelled, jumping up and down to make her tiny body more visible in the thickening crowd.

"Come _on_, you two," I hissed as they drew near, Taiki still muttering something about 22 bridges and 66 possibly peerless domains under his breath. It didn't look like he even saw me, or anyone.

"IN A SINGLE FILE LINE, PLEASE."

Taiki looked up, first without any particular focus, then looked at me as if he'd just woken up from some sort of trance. "Huh?" He looked around again, people filing into the arena from all around him. "Oh sh-"

"THIS WAY."

We couldn't stand in place any longer against the tide of classmates going through the gateway, and were ushered into the place – single file, of course. Taiki was right behind me, Kaede and the others just in front.

"Well, I don't see Old Man Yamaji," Hiroki said, looking around.

"Or anyone," Kaede said, scanning the arena. Several lines of single-filed students were in front of us already, and we craned our necks to see. "Only Tebi and Hagiwara, and…" Kaede grew silent.

"What?" I said, trying to see what it was that made her eyes go so wide.

"Um, Akemi?" Taiki was poking at my sleeve. "Which final is this?"

"Swords, you idiot!" I said, not even turning my glance to him. "Are you…"

"Huh? What're you looking at?" Taiki followed my gaze though, and being just slightly taller than me, saw what I had seen with ease.

Every one of the Gotei 13 Captains, Yama-jii excepting, lined up at the front of the courtyard on a small, barely raised platform.

"What, that's all?" Taiki said. "What's the big deal?"

Hideki elbowed him, solidly.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"Shut up, baka. Those are _Captains_."

"What are they all doing here?" Ran translated for Raiko. "It's strange…"

Kaede, next to Raiko, eyed the Captains with a deadly serious expression. "My bet is, this will be their last impression of us before deciding who to take on their ride-alongs. We're in trouble if we aren't impressive."

"One on one combat in front of the Captains?" Hiroki guessed, looking like he couldn't decide whether he was excited or frightened at the prospect.

Tebi had moved to the front. "ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE LISTEN UP," he roared.

"We can hear you!" came a voice from the crowd, somewhere to our back.

There was a slight wooshing noise, and a solid thunk as the boy who'd called up fell to the ground; Tebi had knocked him out. "Any other commentators?" he asked. Everyone else was silent.

"At least it wasn't me," Taiki said under his breath.

"This time," I muttered, eyes on Tebi. He moved through the crowd and back toward the front as he continued.

"Consider this less of an exam and more of a…final lesson. As many of you have at one point heard, shinigami-to-be will often dream of that soul which will someday inhabit their soul slayer, long before it actually takes shape."

Kaede nodded silently. If she'd contacted her sword already, it didn't surprise me…but I was a little jealous.

Beside me, Taiki raised a hand. "Sensei! Um, question. …What?"

Another woosh-thunk later, Taiki was on the ground beside me. All of us stared. Tebi gave him a good prod to make sure he was just conscious enough to listen, then walked back up to the platform.

"Idiot," Hiroki muttered once Tebi was out of range.

Taiki only groaned a little. Beside Kaede, Raiko covered a silent laugh.

"As I was saying," Tebi continued, once he reached the platform and faced us all again, "In recent weeks, the advanced class has been practicing meditation to communicate with said spirit. The lower class has only heard this in theory. In either case, today will be the day to test your...well, connection with your inner sword. How one receives one's soul slayer is the most well-guarded secret of this Academy. Today, in the presence of the Captains of the Gotei 13, you will find out.

"It is...to have another soul slayer pierced through your heart."

I gaped at our sensei. So did Raiko and Ran. Only Kaede nodded, as if she already knew.

"So…today is the day you will either receive your soul slayer, or not. If you choose to undergo the exam and you are strong enough, your sword will materialize on its own. If you are not strong enough, you will be mortally wounded..."

"Of course, I'll be here to help with those," came the friendly, and admittedly relieving, voice of the 4th Division Captain from behind Tebi.

"But if you do not wish to put yourself in danger, please step back now," Tebi continued. "You are welcome to train for another year before undergoing the graduation exam."

On the ground beside me, Taiki sat up a little and rubbed his head. "I don't know about this."

"Now, unless you more advanced students have managed to contact your spirit, you likely do not yet know your sword's name. Meaning, It will take an ordinary katana's form and will only be a sword to you, for now. This is a perfectly acceptable, and indeed expected, result. Those who know their sword's name, if there are any of you, may have different results."

"Not likely." The voice came from a familiar face – the 6th Division Captain, Watabe Amaterasu. For some reason, I felt as if she was looking at me in particular, and cringed.

The twins were eyeing Taiki, who still hadn't gotten to his feet and was looking a little ill.

"Hey now, Taiki, don't back down now," Hideki said quietly. "After all, if you don't get your sword this time, it's no skin off your back, right?"

"Not his back," Hiroki said with a grin. "But Hide's right."

"Yeah," I said, turning my eyes back from Taiki to the 6th Div Captain with what I hoped was a look of determination. "He's right. Even I don't know my sword's name. Haven't managed to call it yet, even in meditation. That doesn't mean a sword won't materialize though, that's what sensei said."

Taiki stood, finally, and with a gulp said only, "Let's do this."

The silence from earlier had slowly broken as friends debated amongst themselves, sought support or confirmation, and eventually about 30 of the number filed dejectedly out of the area and through the doors.

I eyed my small group of friends; none of them had chosen to leave.

"I will call you up by name, to assure the Captains know who you are, so please listen up," Tebi called out. Hagiwara read the first name off a list. The first student, a hefty boy from my Advanced class called Tsuyoshi, took the platform and knelt in front of Tebi. From off to the side, Hagiwara-sensei, our advanced instructor, brought a ceremonial katana and offered it with a bow to Tebi. Tebi took it, unsheathed it, and without further ado plunged it into Tsuyoshi's heart. The boy shuddered, groaned in pain; but when the sword, bloodied, was removed from Tsuyoshi's chest, a mid-length, thick-bladed katana remained in his hands.

He stood, completely healed, bowed to Tabi and the Captains, then raised his new soul slayer triumphantly before the crowd. There were a few cheers, and a lot more nervous faces.

One by one, our year-mates made their way to the front to be stabbed in the chest by the ceremonial sword. Those who succeeded placed the practice katanas they'd been renting in a bin to the side of the stage, aside from the few like me who had inherited theirs from families, and returned to their place in line triumphantly buckling their new swords to their belts. The few who failed – and there were those who failed – collapsed into a pool of blood, were given cursory healing by Captain Haaku and sent, once stable, to the 4th Division for more intense healing.

Finally, it was Kaede's turn.

"You can do it!!" Ran cheered her on quietly as she stepped towards the front platform.

Kaede knelt in front of Tebi, and I'm pretty sure every one of us held our breath as we watched the sword plunge into her chest. But in no time at all, a slightly oversized katana flashed in Kaede's hands, her body jolted but entirely unharmed.

"Yay!" Ran cheered, a bit more blatantly loud.

Tebi glared at Ran and called her name next. She made her way, suddenly quite subdued, through the crowd, passing on her way with Kaede, who returned carrying her new sword and looking a bit shocked.

"It doesn't hurt at all," she murmured to me as she took her place back in line, equipping the zanpakutou. "You feel this push…but that's it."

Up on the platform, Ran was kneeling and shaking. The sword pierced her chest; for a second nothing happened. Then there was blood.

"No!" Kaede couldn't help but call out.

But just as we were all beginning to worry, the blood disappeared, and a short, almost dagger-like Soul Slayer clattered onto the ground in front of her.

Ran, still looking a little wobbly and dazed, picked up the small sword and examined it. Then, apparently noticing that she was no longer injured, picked up the weapon, cheered, and danced around in a circle.

Behind her, Tebi looked a little grayer than usual. "That…was a little close." He ushered Ran back into line, where she happily showed us her new sword, before returning to the list. "Kinoyama Raiko, please."

Raiko looked downright sick as she moved to face the ceremonial blade, and I remembered what she'd told us years ago – that she'd been killed, in the Living World, when a man slit her throat. Yet the sword moved through her as if through butter, and no blood showed; a simple-looking, average-sized katana materialized in her hands, and she stood, looking slightly more confident.

"Impressive, Kinoyama," Tebi said, nodding appreciatively. "Next, Itagaki Ume."

Ume received her sword with little fuss, although it was on the small side. My guess was that it wouldn't matter; no matter how little I liked the girl, she had always had a talent for Kidou. She'd make it on a Division easily…even if I hated to admit it.

Hideki and Hiroki went next, one after another, with little fuss. At least on the part of the sword-receiving. After each earned their blades – perfectly identical in every way – they returned back to the line and proceeded to argue over whose was bigger. Which of course was a pointless argument, and therefore bound to go on for weeks. I was commenting to Raiko and Kaede that the argument wouldn't be settled until one of the two of them reached shikai when the next name was called.

"Masuyo Taiki…that is, if you can walk."

Taiki glared at Tebi for the comment, but the truth was, he still looked a little shaky from the earlier attack. Regardless, he made his way up front and bared his chest to be stabbed.

"I'm ready. Bring it on."

Tebi pulled back the sword and stabbed, but it was apparent from the outset that something was wrong. His sword met far more resistance than it had with anyone else, and blood spurted everywhere. Tebi removed the sword and took a step backwards to avoid the splatter, looking genuinely alarmed.

Taiki set both hands on the ground where he knelt, gasping for breath and bleeding profusely. Just as I was about to call out for someone to help him, and the 4th Division Captain took a single step forward, an average-sized katana appeared on the ground in front of him.

But the bleeding wouldn't stop.

"Ha," Taiki managed, weakly, before passing out.

"W…wow….what?" was all I could manage.

Hideki was chuckling nervously. "Well see? That wasn't so bad."

"But he's still bleeding," I said, watching intently as the 4th Division Captain finally stepped in to stop the bleeding and a small squadron of 4th Div shinigami came to take him away to the infirmary. "How is that even possible?"

Beside me, Kaede frowned. "I've never heard of it happening before."

Tebi and Hagiwara, and all of the Captains, were still watching in the direction that Taiki had been carried off, some looking confused, others simply interested. Captain Watabe just gave a yawn and looked at a pocket watch.

Finally, Tebi spoke again. "Um…right. Sayuri Akemi-sama…I guess."

It was my turn.

"You can do it, Akemi!" I heard Ran cheer me on vaguely, but the closer I moved toward the podium and the sword that was to kill me, the less I heard or saw of anything around me. There was only the blade, and silence.

As the sword leveled at me, I saw a flash of snow and petals, and the face of my ancestor grinning coyly at me for a half-second as if I actually stood before her. I shook my head to clear the visions and focus on the task ahead…and then realized that it had already happened. The was no blood, nor had I felt the bite of the sword, but a crisp, blue-handled katana in full decoration was in my hands. I touched the blade, which also had a slight blue tint. It felt unnaturally cold. I looked up at Tebi and the Captains, most of whom were smiling.

Tebi raised an eyebrow. "I see at least one of you knows your sword's name. Interesting."

_But I don't…_

The 7th Division Captain, Matsuda, grinned and gestured at me. I could hear him address the Captain next to him: "A release already? That's impressive. Too bad she didn't apply for my squad!"

The 8th Division Captain, Koga, merely grunted.

9th Division's Sugioka shook his head. "A plain old katana from a noble? I'd expect better."

Amidst all this rumbling, the head of the 6th Division was eyeing me. It was creeping me out, and so I stood, bowed to them all, and hurried back to my group.

Only a few classmates remained. When they finished, Tebi took center stage once more. "Well I guess that's all of you. Don't forget to check your Division Ride-Along postings this afternoon, please – if you don't show up, you can't earn a spot! And remember, those of you who achieved actualization today: this is only the beginning. You must spend time with your sword to understand it! Dismissed!"

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We all went and got lunch. It was ramen – the thick stuff, the real deal – and it was fantastic. But I couldn't help be a little distracted, between my new sword (which was still incredibly cold against the fabric of my hakama, even in its sheath) and, well…

"You guys don't think that Taiki…"

Raiko signed. "I'm sure he's fine," Ran translated. "It's Taiki, after all."

Hiroki laughed. "Knowing him, he'll probably come barreling around the corner any minute now, trying to shake off a whole squad of 4th Div shinigami and swearing and yelling for them to leave him alone."

Suddenly a ruckus sounded from the nearby hallways, and Taiki showed himself, panting and yelling behind him, "Leave me alone!! I told you I'm fine!!"

"Like that," Hideki felt the need to add.

Kaede smirked as I shook my head and buried it in my hands. "Still worried about him now, Akemi?"

"Pretending not to know him now, actually."

Everyone laughed as Taiki, across the room, continued to argue with the 4th Div shinigami who finally caught up to him. Raiko looked off to the side, and signed, then stood.

"Oh!" Ran said, and jumped up too. "She says they just posted the Division assignments! Let's all go see!!" She ran off ahead of us, Raiko trailing at a more relaxed pace. A small group had already gathered by the bulletin board.

"Let's go," said Hiroki, standing and looking in Taiki's direction. "Maybe he won't see us if we aren't sitting here."

I laughed, but the rest of us all got up and joined the others. Taiki did in fact join us, breathless, a few minutes later.

Once we got in close enough to see, our squad deployments were:

3: Saito Hideki and Hiroki

4: Kinoyama Raiko, Sasaki Ran

5: Sasaki Ran

6: Sayuri Akemi

8: Saito Hideki and Hiroki, Sasaki Ran, Masuyo Taiki

9: Sasaki Ran

10: Sayuri Akemi, Sasaki Ran

11: Kobayashi Kaede

13: Sayuri Akemi, Kobayashi Kaede, Saito Hideki and Hiroki

A schedule was posted beside the listings; the evaluations would be during finals, so back up finals were also scheduled for those who would miss them.

My first evaluation would be with the 6th Division. I sighed; it was as I expected. I couldn't hope to be lucky enough that they wouldn't accept me for the evaluation ride-along, no matter how much the Captain's family disliked mine. Well, no matter; I would do what I had to, if it meant finally getting into the Gotei 13.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

AN:

Another Akemi chapter. I know, I know… but until Ride-Alongs are over, it's kind of in a weird order. Expect more regulation then.

…if you care.

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Chapter 3

The next day, Tuesday, went by in a blur. I spent the morning helping Taiki prepare for the Kidou exam that day. The exam was held in different rooms for each class, and I heard their class covered different material, but both were pretty brutal. I was exhausted, and instead of spending the night studying for the next morning's Tactics exam, I went to bed early.

The tactics exam Wednesday morning was thorough and difficult; it would have been tough even if I had studied better and hadn't been distracted, but I hadn't, and I was. I knew what was coming the moment I left the exam: my first ride-along, and not the one I was looking forward to.

But I pushed my way through the last question, which had required a 5-page tactical analysis, managing to finish before most of my classmates. I ate a rushed lunch; I wasn't expecting a picnic.

After returning to my room to tidy up and polish my new sword (it still felt very cold to the touch, and a bit unfamiliar at my side), I set out along a familiar path through Seireitei to the 6th Division Headquarters, rocks in the pit of my stomach.

An uncomfortable scene greeted me as I entered the courtyard: the 18 seated officers standing in full regalia, in an imposing line across from a cluster of uncertain, fidgeting classmates of mine, none of whom I know particularly well. There were, at least, a few familiar faces among the officer's line-up. From the 11th seat position, Daiho Koji gave me a slight head-nod and a grin. Toward the end of the line, in the 18th seat, Jakushi Chie's eyes opened wide when they landed on me. I saw her struggle not to break ranks to wave at me enthusiastically.

I smiled. I hadn't seen Chie for over a year, and I had no idea she'd since been seated. I calmed, ever so slightly. But no matter how much her smile warmed me, I still didn't feel quite welcome in the courtyard.

Suddenly someone stood right before me, clipboard in hand. I jumped, but relaxed almost immediately. She'd changed, but her face was familiar – the Vice Captain of 6th Division, Mori Ayuko. Her hair had been cut shorter, almost boyish around her face, but her eyes said she recognized me, and flashed me a quick smile.

"I expected I would be seeing you again, Sayuri. I'm glad you're on time this time around."

And then, before I could even react, she was all business. Checking my name off a list, she stepped back and addressed the crowd.

"Please line up facing this officers," she called out, and we all moved to comply. "You will proceed one at a time to the Captain's office. When your interview is finished, please begin warming up for drills as soon as you can. It is your responsibility to be prepared. That is all." She then walked off to lead the first student to the Captain's room; Watabe had yet to be seen.

_Interview with the Captain?_ All previous semblance of ease left me entirely.

As I stared after the Vice Captain and the first person to leave the group, I felt a tap on my shoulder. The officers had broken ranks to ready for warm-ups and drills, and Chie's face smiled up at me.

"Akemi! I didn't know you'd decided to join 6th! I mean, I thought after first year you were leaning towards 13th…"

"I am." I sighed and fumbled with my blade, my fingers chilling at the touch.

"Then…"

"Leaving my options open." I didn't mention that my parents were still pressuring me toward 6th; I assumed Chie would guess on her own.

"Oh." She looked down. "That's too bad, I was hoping when I saw you we'd be teammates."

I couldn't help but smile. "I haven't decided yet. It may still happen. Congratulations on your seating, by the way!"

"Thanks!" She beamed. "I was only just promoted the other day, when I beat Izuru-san in the Division tournament – oh, that's Mio over there," she said, pointing to a slight girl with a frighteningly large non-released sword. "She's 19th seat now…it's good news for you too, you know."

"What do you mean?"

She laughed. "If _I'm_ seated, _you_ should have no trouble!"

We entered into a polite argument about how the other person was certainly the stronger, but we were interrupted as Koji walked over and clapped me on the back.

"Welcome to 6th Div!"

"I'm not in yet," I said, glancing nervously at the Captain's door, where two more people had already exited. I was next in line.

Koji followed my eyes. "Aw, the interview? Don't worry over it! I put in a good word for you, and, let's face it, your pedigree is way stronger than mine…"

"Pedigree?" _What is this, a dog show?_

Koji had no time to answer, because the Captain's door opened, and an ashen-faced girl from the non-advanced class exited. The Vice Captain showed at the door, and beckoned me in.

"Sayuri, Akemi-san," Mori announced as I crossed the threshold into the Captain's room.

The rice-paper door behind me slid closed, leaving only me and the Captain in the small, traditional room. She was seated bigger than life on the tatami floor behind a short table full of notes and papers. I assumed the one in front of her was my application. Her sword, instead of being at her side, was displayed prominently on the wall behind her. On either side fell a scroll: "The Light of the World," read one; the other, "6th Division."

"Sayuri." A statement, rather than a question.

I bowed quickly to the ground, though somehow it felt degrading rather than respectful, and greeted her. "I humbly appreciate the Captain's consideration."

She let me remain prostrate for a moment before gesturing me up and to the floor cushion opposite her. I knelt carefully.

"Very well," she began. "Begin with your family lineage, starting with your parents and going back at least ten generations, being certain to mention any shinigami in your direct family line."

She was the Captain, so I held back my shocked expression and, as humbly as I could, recited my family history. There had only been one or two shinigami in my family history back until the point where that of my family merged with that of the Kuchiki clan, but there had been heroes in that line, and Captains – but as I reached that point, Watabe-taichou stopped me.

"So your family broke with the Kuchiki clan?"

"Um, yes," I said, faltering in my story-telling. "That is, one of the Kuchiki daughters married a man called – "

"So your family willing gave away, by this departure, any claims to first-class nobility?"

"Well, yes," I said. "I suppose you could –"

"And yet now they pretend to be deserving of the title in their own right?"

"My excuses, Captain, but what does this have to do with my - ?"

"It has _everything_ to do with your acceptance here!" Watabe roared, pounding on the table. I recoiled, then quickly bowed, face once again to the floor.

"My sincerest apologies, Captain, but while I do not agree with the machinations of my family, there is nothing in my humble position that I may do to counteract them."

In reality, I couldn't have cared less what my family, politics-wise, to counteract their hours of daily boredom. But I clearly recognized the danger imminent in the Captain's voice, and shuddered, still bowing to the ground.

The door slid open, and the Vice Captain stepped in and bowed deeply.

"Captain, my apologies, but you must proceed to the next interview if we are to remain on schedule."

The Captain looked us both over with an odd, judging suspicion, then after a moment of doing nothing, motioned me out. I scrambled to my feet, bowed again, and backed quickly out the door. Mori remained bowed at the waist until I passed, then shut the door and turned, following beside me on her way to retrieve the next interviewee.

Quietly, for my ears only, she murmured, "Are you all right, Sayuri?"

I nodded, but I'm certain she could see I was shaken.

Even quieter, she added, "I hope you will forgive our Division our Captain," then moved on to usher forward the next student, leaving me to begin warm-ups on my own.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Captain did not show herself for the rest of the afternoon, except once immediately following interviews, at which point she dismissed six of the students without further comment. Once she had retreated back to her quarters, the officers and students finished warming up, and the Vice Captain called us to attention. She led us through drills, careful eye on each of us to see if we could keep up. They weren't too different from the usual sword drill set in Advanced Swords, except that Mori pushed us to our absolute limits and a bit beyond. I gathered it was a test; I had a sneaking suspicion that the Vice Captain led the Division on an average day, and that Watabe, having thrown out those she decided she couldn't stand for, was allowing Mori to finish choosing which of us to accept.

I knew the Captain would have absolute veto power – that was simply her way, it seemed – but it felt as if we were being even more carefully evaluated than before, and I had a feeling that was why. If the Captain was absent from the daily routine, then of course she'd have to defer to someone who knew the squad better…although she'd likely excuse it as all simply being too tedious to bother with.

Still, I wasn't totally convinced that was the case; after all, I wasn't sure why I was even still there, after that disaster of an interview.

After drills, Mori explained how the usual day in the Division would proceed. Normally, the time after drills would be for free-fighting, for those squads without missions. Today, however, we would all be busy with "missions," so there was no time for fun or further practice. The unranked members of the Division, who we had not seen all day, showed only long enough to bring cold tea for refreshments. While we rested, Mori paired off the remaining ten of us with the top-ranked officers. Koji tried to claim me, but Mori said I was to be paired with the current 5th seat, Kuchiki Kei.

She was a quiet and very serious woman a bit older than me with carefully braided thick black hair. My family's relations with the Kuchiki clan were still decent; neither of us said anything on the subject, or even much at all after introductions.

The Vice Captain handed out to each student an old, clunky looking cell phone.

"These are your communicators for the day. The next exercise will be a Hollow hunt, so please prepare yourself. Once in your location, we'll send you the coordinates of the nearest low-class Hollow. The officers are along for observation only. Take out the Hollow, report back, and return here. That is all."

I lined up to enter the Living World Portal, and was sent into the Shibuya area in downtown Tokyo. My phone beeped almost instantaneously upon arrival at the top of the 109 Building. I was still skittish in the big city after 4th year, but I'd had more experience since then, and it didn't take long to track down the Hollow. I decided, with only a nod at my proctor, to take it out quickly; it could cause a lot of trouble in such a populated area.

I watched it below me, on the street. In Tokyo it was late enough that few people were out and about, but Shibuya never sleeps entirely.

Suddenly, it looked up at me.

I'd forgotten Hollows had such a good sense of smell for spirit pressure, but no matter. I unsheathed my sword, pointed it downwards, and jumped.

Right onto the Hollow's upturned face.

Spinning to aim at the back of its head before it could react, I thrust my blade deep inside his skull. A small ring of ice formed momentarily on the back of its head.

Then, purified, the spirit particles dissipated.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief; I hadn't been looking forward to a drawn out battle in those quarters. Or ever, really; I barely knew my sword and it was only my third Hollow kill ever. The only thing I knew was that I wanted it over as fast as possible.

I flash-stepped upward to where my proctor awaited on the top of the building. She nodded in approval, and so I called in to report. The third seat answered, and when I reported, he immediately opened up the portal nearby so we could return to 6th Division headquarters.

Kuchiki wandered over to make her report to Mori, out of my earshot, then walked off into the compound. Mori stepped over.

"All right, Sayuri. You're done for the day. Thank you very much."

"When will results be posted?" I asked, not entirely sure I wanted to know.

"Sunday morning at the latest." She smiled a polite dismissal. "I hope to see you again."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"That went well."

I was back in the courtyard with the cherry tree and the light snowfall; the only difference was a few more blossoms on the tree, and somehow a slightly heavier layer of snow. My ancestor, or whoever she was, sat in the branches, this time, looking down at me.

"You're being sarcastic?" I said. "That's not like you."

"You don't know me well enough to judge what's like me or not," she said with an amused grin. After a pause, she added, "However, I actually meant it."

"I don't know how you can say that."

"Even if the Captain dislikes you, your pedigree is spotless, you kept up with seated officers in drills, and you dispatched your Hollow faster than any of the others. You met all of their qualification standards."

"But the Captain hates me."

"Perhaps. But the Vice Captain likes you."

"The Vice Captain…" I repeated quietly. There was a certain draw there, though for the life of me I couldn't place it at all.

My ancestor smiled slyly. "You yourself were pretty certain, earlier, that the Vice Captain made the final decisions, were you not?"

"How do you – oh, right. You're a dream."

She shook her head and sighed. "You really never learn, do you? Anyway, my point is only that you should consider taking them up on the offer when they make it."

"I could do without the crazy Captain."

"Certainly." She slid down the tree onto her feet. "But I think that Division would be good for you, for reasons other than and far more important than the Captain."

"You don't think I should choose my team based on the Captain that runs it?"

Another sly grin. "You really think the Captain runs that division?"

I was about to respond, but stopped. "How come you get to give me advice in the first place? You keep swearing you aren't my ancestor, but who else could you be, then, to warrant giving me advice on how I live my life?"

"I wonder." The same sly grin…intensely aggravating.

"Fine then. If you aren't my ancestor, who are you? A shinigami? Or maybe you're just a figment of my imagination and I'm giving _myself_ this advice…"

She laughed and stepped through the courtyard gate, calling over her shoulder, "You know, for being the top of your class, you sure aren't that smart."

I stared after her, lips pursed, uncomprehending, then slowly the vision faded as I drifted back into dreamless sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

AN: For those of you who have missed Taiki, here he is

AN: For those of you who have missed Taiki, here he is

Sorry this has taken so long, too. I've been a little overwhelmed by how insanely busy my life is despite the fact that it's summer, so I don't have much time to write. I'll do my best to get out chapters though!

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Chapter 4

Thursday morning, I actually woke up early. _Way_ earlier than I would have cared to. But I'm not stupid; even _I_ knew this was my only chance this year to get into the Gotei 13. I wasn't about to be the only one in my year not to get in.

I didn't know the way to 8th Division; Akemi, who went walking a lot and knew the area, drew me a map, but I ended up just walking over with the twins anyway.

The 8th Division Courtyard was in chaos when we showed up. There were _tons_ of people crowded into it, milling around.

"Guess you weren't the only one who forgot to apply," Hiroki snarked.

"Hey now," I said. "_You're_ here by choice."

Hideki glanced at the crowd. "I bet some of them are just here to see the Captain. He's got quite a reputation, you know."

I felt a tug on my sleeve. Turning around and peering down, I saw Ran's nervous but smiling face under her bright blue hair.

"Hi, guys." Her voice was shaking.

"I thought you hated this Division," Hiroki said. I rolled my eyes; he certainly didn't mince words.

"I don't, really," she stuttered, unconvincingly. "But I hear their admission qualifications are really lax here, and my grades aren't so good…"

"Hm," Hideki said. "Wonder why that is. The admission standards, I mean."

Before any of us could venture a guess, a large, incredibly buff man, with short auburn hair and a massive, blunt rectangular sword strapped to his back, stepped through the doors of a balcony on the second floor. His arm band suggested Vice Captain status.

"All those here only to see the Captain should leave now," he yelled out at us.

"We are only accepting serious applicants today."

Easily half the applicants grumbled and headed through the courtyard gate, but a good 30 of us remained. Looked like Hiroki and Ran were both right – this seemed to be a last ditch attempt for a lot of people.

As the merely curious filed out, a dark presence pressed into the air, pulsing thickly. At first I thought it was coming from the Vice Captain, but soon I noticed the shinigami standing behind him and off to once side. A few strands of dusty brown hair stuck into his face, falling into a blue right eye; otherwise nearly his entire head was wrapped tightly in a long, blood-red cloth. He wore full length Captain's robes with extra long sleeves, one sword in a sheath on each hip. He did nothing but stare out at us with that one eye, at first, but there was no mistake the deadly pressure came from him.

He seemed to be searching for something amongst the crowd. Suddenly, he leaned into his Vice's ear and, hand barely showing under the long sleeve, pointed – at me.

At least, that's what I thought at first. But as the Vice nodded and disappeared into the building, I noticed Ran, beside me, tugging on Hideki's sleeve.

"Nii-chan," she said, weakly. "I don't feel so well…"

All three of us looked down at her, swaying in place; I glanced up at the Captain, and for the first time realized he had been pointing at her, not me. He still watched her with scary intensity.

As I watched the Captain, who I was pretty sure didn't blink at all, I started to feel a little disoriented myself. Looking away in hopes of lessening the dizziness, I noticed the Vice moving through the crowd toward us.

He knelt in front of Ran. For being so gruff-looking, he had a kindly face.

"Hi," he said, smiling. "I'm Yuudai."

"S-sasaki Ran," she squeeked.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ran," the Vice said. "Are you signed up for any other assessments, Ran?"

She nodded dumbly.

"Tons of them," I offered.

The Vice nodded his thanks to me and turned back to Ran. "The Captain recommends you leave before we begin," he said.

"N-no!" Ran still looked ashen, but had stubborn disobedience written across her face. "I w-want to take the test!"

"And I'm sure you'd do just fine!" Yuudai smiled and placed a hand on her tiny shoulder. "Some people just have a negative reaction to the Captain's spirit pressure, you see."

"W-what if I don't get in anywhere else?"

"A fine shinigami like yourself? I wouldn't worry about it. But I'll tell you what: if you _don't_, you come back and see me, okay? We'll figure something out."

He smiled brightly, and Ran attempted to return it, shaking. "T-thank you, Yuudai sir." She went to bow and almost fell over.

"I'll take her out there," Hideki said, reaching out to steady her and nodding over his shoulder past the courtyard gate.

"Do that," the Vice said, standing and reminding us all how tall and bulky he was. "But hurry back. We're about to begin." He nodded at Hiroki and I as well, and made his way back through the crowd, stopping at a few other people of concern.

I didn't feel nearly as bad as any of them looked, but by the time Hideki returned, I felt pretty dazed and had sweat through my uniform.

Hiroki shuddered. "I heard you get used to it after awhile, but man, gives me the creeps. I feel all feverish."

"Really?" Hideki said. "I've got the chills."

"I'm just confused," I added.

"Not like that's abnormal," Hiroki said, and I shoved him.

\"Your attention please." The voice of the Vice Captain rang out from the balcony once again. "We will now begin your examination, which will consist of – "

"Battle Royale. To the death."

The voice of the Captain was low, quiet, raspy…intense. It carried in the thick spirit pressure, vibrating in my ears and against my skin. He was deadly serious.

Instantly voices erupted from every corner of the courtyard.

"Sweet," Hiroki commented beside me, apparently unphased. His brother looked a little pale, but stared at the Captain on the balcony, eyes narrowed.

The Vice stepped forward and held his hand out. "Quiet, please!" Once people were again focused and listening, he continued, "What my Captain means to say is…well,

everything except the 'to the death' part, really."

Although most of his face was covered by wrapping, I could have sword the Captain smiled.

More mumbling came from the crowd. I hadn't decided yet whether the fortmat was to my advantage or not, but it seemed both dangerous and fun, and maybe a little insane. My kind of game.

"What we're looking for is a demonstration of your power and strategy, your use of spirit pressure, and how you handle a high-stress environment. You will battle only to first blood, so defend yourself well. The moment there's blood, you're out, and you must watch from the sidelines. Of course we…er, _encourage_," he said, with a quick glance at the Captain, "use of restraint, since the smallest amount of blood will due. However, for serious injuries, we do have a small team from the 4th Division standing by." He gestured to a small group standing off to one side of the battle area, who waved at us politely. "All clear?"

It was as if all of us at once realized exactly how close we were to each other, down on the field; we all spread out, drew our swords, and glanced suspiciously around at our neighbors suddenly turned enemies.

The Vice Captain eyed us all and nodded in apparent approval. He then turned to his Captain and mumbled something, bowing in what looked like a small apology. The Captain gave a miniscule nod. Then, to my surprise, I watched as the Vice performed a kidou spell I didn't recognize. The arms of Captain Koga's robe flew upward and across his body, and clasped tightly in back. The robe had become a straight-jacket.

The Vice didn't allow us to stand and gawk for long. The only warning we had was when he took one step away from the Captain and faced us.

"Aaaand…go," he said simply.

Though I'd become one of the better fighters in my year, the disorientation from the initial onslaught of opponents was intense. Swords clanged and slashed through the air in every direction. Kidou spells flew everywhere. At any point someone could sneak up on you while you were engaged with someone else. It was chaos.

After fending off my first three attackers (the second two at once) to a stalemate, sending the enemies off in search of weaker opponents, an idea occurred to me.

Why did they all have to be enemies?

"Hide! Hiro! Triangle!"

Anyone else might have looked at me funny, wondering why I was spouting off about shapes in the middle of life-or-death (sort of) battle, but the twins had known me long enough to understand. They were both nearby, and instantly nodded and fell into formation, our backs together. We were protected on all three sides – theoretically, it would become a bit easier to fend off attacks when we weren't busy wondering if someone was sneaking up on us from behind.

And it was easier, for awhile. But we were also a bigger target, and a dozen or more fighters converged, hoping to take us all out at once.

One of the bulkier guys, who had apparently already achieved release, sent a ball on a chain at my head. It missed, but wrapped itself around his neighbor's sword, disarming her and sending the sword flying over the top of all of our heads. I ducked, cursing them both out, only to narrowly miss being hit by a rouge kidou shot.

"Hey, watch out!" I yelled…although I guess 'watching out' wasn't exactly the point of the drill. But it gave me an idea.

"Hiro, Hide, down! On three!" I immediately started muttering the spell under my breath.

Luckily, they trusted me enough not to question the order, and right as I was finishing the spell they dropped flat to the ground.

"Soukatsui!"

I'd never been much good at kidou, but in this case, that was entirely the point. What should have been a concentrated blast of blue flame, intended to seriously injure a single target, dissipated into a shock wave in every direction, knocking all those around us flat on their backs. Hide and Hiro swung their blades in quick arcs along the ground, just enough to scratch the feet of our attackers, drawing blood.

Got 'em.

As the disgruntled throng of defeated shinigami grumbled at us and hobbled off the field, the twins stood and I took a deep breath, looking around. Only a few players remained in the game, and all of them were eyeing our trio as if just maybe we were Captains in disguise.

I grinned at the other two and cackled. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Hiroki nodded. "Break!"

We took off in separate directions after the stragglers, hoping we'd cut down their numbers enough to pick them off one by one.

We had; the remainders were cake. One was clever enough to try sneaking up on me from behind as I took out another, but I sensed him coming up on me and swung my hilt backwards into his face, knocking him out cold. Once the first guy had a pretty new scar across his nose, I turned to face the guy on the ground and scratched the back of his limp hand, just enough to draw blood – just enough to be sure he stayed out. Then I looked up toward the others.

Hiroki and Hideki, each no more than ten feet away from me, finished up with their opponents as well. They turned to face me. We glanced around. We were the only three remaining.

For a few moments, we all just stated at one another. Finally, Hiroki spoke.

"So…now what?"

But I already knew what; I could see by the look in Hideki's narrowed eyes that he knew, too.

He leveled his sword at us.

"Aww man," I said. "How boring is this? I fight you guys all the time!"

But 'boring' was not destined to describe my ride-along exam. With no warning at all aside from a low, steady chuckle that seemed to come from everywhere at once, Captain Koga dropped from the sky right between us and onto one knew, arms still tied back but robes flowing up around him. He looked up at me for half a second, his single visible bright red eye focused on me like some bird of prey.

He said only one word, with what I swear was a grin underneath the crimson head-wrap: "Fun."

Then a burst of spirit pressure blasted out from him in every direction, knocking me backwards and fading the world into black.


	6. Chapter 5

AN: Sorry for the long absence. As it so happens, I've been busy graduating from college ^^ The good news is I've been stockpiling chapters during my job-hunting time, so you'll get several at once. Thanks for waiting!

And a special thanks to a few new watchers out there who have been favoriting my stories. You guys rock!

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Chapter 5

Thursday morning, the day after my nearly-catastrophic ride-along with the 6th Division, I slept in an extra hour, and took some extra time in the bath as well, trying to relax. I could afford to take it easy, a bit; we only had one final on Thursday, Hand to Hand Combat during Evening Hour. Seeing as my next ride-along was during Evening Hour as well, I wouldn't need to worry about that particular final until re-takes on Saturday. Not as if I could have spent much time studying for it anyway.

By the time I made my way to the table for early lunch, there was quite a bit of a commotion. Kaede, Ran and Raiko were talking animatedly when I sat down.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" I asked, pulling out my chopsticks to dig into a delicious-looking bowl of katsudon. "Didn't you have a ride-along during Morning Hour, Ran?"

She nodded, and I noticed for the first time that she appeared a bit pale.

"8th Div," Kaede said, explaining the look on Ran's face.

"They sent me home early," Ran added. "I guess that's okay, though. Haven't you heard the rumors, Akemi-nee-chan?"

"Rumors?" I shook my head, then noticed for the first time how empty the table felt. "Come to think of it, didn't Taiki and the twins head to 8th Division, too? Why aren't they back yet?"

"That's what I mean!" Ran said. "I heard they had a battle royale to the death!"

I looked to Kaede. "She's got to be kidding, right? I mean no sane division would…"

Raiko signed.

"She says they aren't exactly sane over there…you're right, Raiko-chan. I don't think they are. The Vice Captain was pretty nice to me but…" She trailed off and shuddered. "I really hope I get in somewhere else! I don't want to go back there."

"Wait a minute," I said, thinking it over. "If they really had a battle to the death, then….the boys….are….?"

Ran's face drained of color as she seemed to realize for the first time the implications of the rumors.

Kaede shook her head. "No. I'm pretty sure I've seen at least 5 other people around the cafeteria who went to that ride-along and stayed the whole time. They only seemed a little scratched up. I'm sure everything is fine."

Raiko signed again, and I knew what she said before Ran translated – I was thinking the same thing.

"Raiko says….oh…that's right, isn't it? If the others are back, then where are Taiki and Hide-nii and Hiro-nii?"

Kaede looked slightly more worried, but shrugged. "They're pretty tough fighters. Maybe they even won. If so, the Captain – or the Vice I suppose – might have invited them to stay for lunch. To celebrate, you know."

Ran nodded vigorously, latching on to the nicer possibility. "Yeah, that's gotta be right. Anyway if they got hurt I'm sure the Healers would take care of them."

We all ate in silence for a few moments until I remembered. "You know, that's right. I've been so busy with Exams and all that I haven't heard how all your ride-alongs went. Ran? Raiko? How _were_ the healers?"

Raiko looked surprised, then blushed.

"She says they were really strict in the hospital part of the exam, but she thinks it went okay." Ran paused. "I agree. But they didn't make us do a whole lot of fighting, which was nice." Raiko signed again. "And she had fun. And – oh, the Vice Captain said you did well after I left? That's so exciting!"

I grinned at Raiko and she blushed again. I knew what few others did – the Vice Captain of the 4th Division, Odayakana Hideoshi, had been giving Raiko private lessons in Healing and Kidou for some time, hoping to help her get into that Division. The special attention embarrassed her, and had caused some tension earlier with Hiroki – the jealous boyfriend – but clearly it had helped her out.

"I'm glad it went well, Raiko. I'm sure you'll get in." She smiled her thanks. "That was your only ride-along, right?" When she nodded, I turned to Ran. "What about you? You pretty much have more than the rest of us combined."

Ran giggled, but looked tired. "I've only had 4th and 5th so far. Well, and 8th this morning, if that counts…" She sighed. "4th wasn't so bad, like I said. The Captain and Vice of 5th Division were really strong and pretty strict, and we had to fight a lot for them, so I don't think I'll get picked."

Raiko signed.

Ran smiled. "You really think so?" When Kaede and I stared her down, she paused, and then laughed. "Oh, that's right, you can't…anyway, she said she thinks I'll get in to 4th at least so it doesn't matter."

Kaede nodded approvingly. "I'm sure both of you will. Have some confidence."

"What about you, Kaede-san?" I asked. "You haven't told us how 7th Division went last night. I thought you didn't care for them much after 1st year ride-alongs?"

Kaede shrugged. "I didn't, but I figured I'd leave my options open. I'm sure you know what I mean." She grinned at me, and I pretended not to notice. "Anyway, I liked them well enough. The Captain and Vice are both really young and friendly, but I was right about them before – they seem incredibly competitive. Our exam was a single-elimination tournament. The whole Division really got into it."

I smiled. "How'd you do?"

"Fourth." She grinned back, clearly trying to hide the extent of her pride. "Behind that Abarai kid from our class, and a couple of the seated officers who joined in for the fun of it."

Ran giggled. "You had fun, didn't you?"

Kaede smiled again. "I didn't think I would, but I did."

"So do you think you'll accept?" I asked. "I mean, if you did that well you know they'll make an offer."

She shrugged. "I still have two other ride-alongs. I don't know yet which I'll choose. How about you?"

"Hmm?" I asked, knowing where she was going and trying to avoid the subject.

Raiko eyed me. Signed.

"Oh, right!" Ran said. "How was 6th?"

"It…went well."

"But?" Kaede asked.

"But I wouldn't join them if they paid me."

Raiko signed, smiling smugly, and Ran laughed. "She's right, you know. They _would_ be paying you."

"Ha ha." I rolled my eyes and shoveled a bit more egg and pork into my mouth. Then I glanced at the clock. Swallowing, I said, "Um, Ran? Aren't you going to be late?"

Ran's eyes grew wide, and she jumped up, spilling some rice out of a tottering bowl. "Oh my gosh! 9th Div! I've gotta go!"

Thanks to her ridiculous slough of applications, Ran had ride-alongs for all three periods that day – only breaks for meals. And even then…

"Oh, Akemi, you got the message right? About 10th Div tonight?"

I nodded. All of us signed up for 10th Division ride-alongs had received notice the day before that we were not to eat dinner before our arrival. Probably some sort of survival exercise.

"I got it. I'll meet you at the South Inner Gate tonight, okay?" I called after her as she took off running. "We'll go over together."

"Okay!" came the distant reply, before she disappeared entirely among the lunchtime crowd.

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We met up just before the start of Evening Hour at the South Inner Gate, just as the sun was beginning to set past the white walls of Seireitei. Ran was waiting there when I arrived. She looked exhausted, and famished.

"I haven't eaten since lunch and Old Iwa was aweful!" Ran complained as we made our way down the street. "He worked us like a drill sergeant! I'm so hungry…"

I laughed, but she really did look like she could use a good meal, or maybe a nap.

"Iwa, huh? Could you tell he was mostly deaf?"

"Nuh-uh, I was too busy being exhausted and half-starved." Her stomach growled as if in agreement.

"Come on," I said, patting her head as we arrived at the 10th Division's front gate. "Let's just finish this test as fast as we can, and then I'll take you out for ramen."

"Woohoo!"

There were other Academy students arriving at the same time as us, headed into the open courtyard and making their way toward groups of friends. Blankets had been lain out all along the courtyard lawn. Several groups had already settled around them.

A petite girl with blond hair pulled back loosely in a high ponytail came rushing over, carrying a clipboard and appearing distracted. Had I not recognized her from the yearly processional, her armband would have given her away: Vice Captain Karen Mina.

She stopped frantically scanning the surrounding groups for long enough to greet us. "Hi! I'm Karen. You guys are here for the ride-along, right?" We nodded, and so she continued, "All right. Please sign in here by your name, then go ahead and take a seat. Wherever you want is fine, we'll be moving around a lot. Anyway, hurry up. We're a little behind, but the picnic will be starting soon."

Beside me, Ran's eyes lit up. As the Vice walked away, she turned to me, grin especially wide. "She did say 'picnic,' right?"

I shrugged and nodded. "It certainly does look like a picnic around here…shall we pick a spot?"

But though I said that, I couldn't help but wonder – what kind of an exam is a picnic, really?...

Ran skipped for joy, right over to the nearest blanket – already half full with Academy girls – and plopped right down beside them, cheerily introducing herself and entering into immediate food-related conversation. I scanned the courtyard, not seeing anyone else I knew particularly well, and followed a bit more hesitantly.

Reaching the blanket, I bowed my head in acknowledgement of the others. "My name is Sayuri…would you mind if I joined you?"

Unfortunately, as I suspected, the others weren't quite so quick to greet me as they had been with natural, bubbly Ran.

"Um…sure, whatever," one of them finally said, and they turned back to whatever conversation they'd been having before I arrived. I noticed the girl's gaze linger on my hairpin before she turned away.

I sighed. _Even all the manners training in the world can't save me from my reputation…._

Nonetheless, I took a seat and listened quietly to the conversations going on around me for a few minutes, until a voice called out into the courtyard from the Division Headquarters' porch.

"All right, everyone's here now, so let's get started!" It was the slight blond Vice-Captain, Karen. Behind her stood a short, gray-haired man. He didn't give off the helpless-old-man vibe in the least though – he was stout, muscular, and though his face appeared friendly enough, I could feel the reishi released from his body simply being in the same courtyard as him. You could tell he was the Captain even without looking at his long-sleeved white robes.

"Oh! Um, um." Ran bounced up and down from her kneeling position beside me. "Oh, that's right! Gilcrest. Gilcrest-taichou, that's it. Man, it's so hard to remember foreign names."

"Yeah."

Behind the two in charge, a slough of lower-ranked 10th Division members began pouring out of the Headquarters carrying baskets. They spread out, setting one or two baskets on each of the blankets on the lawn, then took a seat at various blankets themselves. A few ranked officers also appeared out of the building and spread out around the area.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do this evening," the Vice Captain spoke out from the porch. "Each blanket has a different food, enough for each of you to have one small portion. So when you're all finished at one blanket, we'll have you get up and switch, and you can eat at another. Make sure you switch up who you're sitting with, too. Understood?"

Everyone sent out a chorus of "Yes" and "Understood, Ma'am," but I still didn't really understand. What kind of an exam was this?...

"Good, then. You'll switch on my command. And – begin!"

"Itadakimasu!" said everyone at once, and people all around the courtyard dug into the baskets of food. At our blanket, the basket was full of mini egg sandwiches.

I plucked one up and turned to talk to Ran, but she was locked in energetic conversation with the girls opposite me on the blanket. Instead, I turned the other way.

One of the 10th Division shinigami, a slight young boy with dark hair, sat on my left.

"This food looks pretty good. Did you guys make it all?"

He nodded and took a bite. "We did. Good thing there were no missions today. We never would have had time."

"Well, it's really good," I said, reaching for a second helping.

"Hold on, now. There's only enough for everyone to have one of those!"

"Ah! Right, sorry." I pulled my hand back and sat there silently for a moment. "Um, I'm Akemi, by the way."

"Yasuhiro," said the boy, and then he fell silent again.

Turning again to see Ran still thoroughly engaged, I sighed and sat back, watching the orange-and-red striped clouds settle lower in the sky.

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The entire evening proceeded as such. No matter how hard I tried at first, I was ignored by almost anyone who saw my hairpin, and it wasn't like I could just take it off – I had already been spotted. I made a few more feeble attempts at conversation, and made sure to complement all the 10th Division shinigami on their food (it was all quite good, after all), but in the end I gave up trying to be sociable and just waited patiently at each blanket after finishing my food. After an hour or so, we'd visited each blanket, and the Captain and Vice Captain wished us well and sent us off.

Ran walked home with me. It was dark, but we knew the way well enough; 10th Division wasn't too far from the Academy in the first place.

"That was soo much fun!" Ran said, skipping along at my side. "I wish all ride-along exams were like that! I made so many new friends."

"It certainly was simple," I said, still somewhat disheartened by the whole evening. "I don't really know what they were going for though."

Ran shrugged. "Maybe they just pass everybody. I don't know how anybody could fail a picnic." She giggled.

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's right. Anyway, I'm going this way, so I'll see you later, okay?" We'd arrived at the dorms, and Ran and I lived on different floors.

"Sure! I'm gonna go see if Hide-nii and Hiro-nii got home all right before I go to bed."

"Just don't be too late," I called after her. "You know how Kaede gets."

"Sure, sure," she said, disappearing down a different hall towards the boys' dormitory.

I considered following after her, but I had studying to do for the next day's Specialty Class final – with so many topics covered, it was bound to be brutal. Besides, Raiko would know what happened to the boys by now – Hiroki was _her_ boyfriend after all. I wandered back down the hall to my room, mumbling high-level kidou spells to myself, and wondering if there was anywhere to practice shunpo late at night.

That may have been the strangest exam so far, but I had more to worry about than the reasoning behind a picnic.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I couldn't figure out where I was.

In fact, for awhile, the nurse kept having to remind me _who_ I was.

"Dude, come on," Hiroki said, sitting on the end of my bed. "We've both been better since last night, I don't know what your deal is."

"I don't know, I'm still pretty cold," Hideki said. "You're saying you aren't feverish at all?"

"Well, I'm a little warm," Hiroki said with a wave of his hand, "but it's no big deal. Quit being such a wimp, Taiki."

"Taiki. Oh, hey, that's right. I'm Taiki!"

Hiroki buried his face in his hands. "This is pointless."

"Masuyo-san's vitals are returning to normal, however slowly," said a 4th Div shinigami on nurse duty who walked into the room and pulled a curtain around my bed. "I'm quite sure he'll be well enough to leave in a few hours. Is his memory coming back at all?"

"Yeah, sort of," said Hideki. "Then again, it's not like he remembers his own name when he's healthy either."

"Hey!" I said. "I'm pretty sure that's not nice. Remind me to beat you up later."

"Yeah…I'll get right on that."

"Taiki, bro," Hiroki broke in. "You remember what happened?"

"We were…fighting, right? Each other?"

"We were going to," Hideki began, but the nurse cut him off.

"I'm afraid you all suffered spirit-pressure poisoning. We see it often in 8th Division recruits, but it is shocking to see it cause such an effect. You must all have had nearly direct contact with Captain Koga for it to…"

"Koga-taicho!" I sat straight up in bed. "He attacked us!"

"And you lived through it?" the nurse suppressed a laugh. "Hardly possible. Although if you _have_ incurred the wrath of the taichou, I pity you kids." She reached over me to switch some knobs on the monitor connected to me. "In any case, if you're remembering, you'll be free to go as soon as your blood pressure stabilizes. I'll check back in an hour or so." She left the room, curtain still shut around my bed.

"You guys remember, right? He totally attacked us!"

Hideki nodded. "I thought he was going to, also. But the 4th Div guys who brought us in told us he didn't even touch us. We all passed out, dude."

Hiroki sighed. "That is so weak."

I shook my head. "Whatever. He obviously did something to us." The something occurred to me. "Oh man! I have to be on this Division!"

Hideki raised an eyebrow at me. "You really think we passed when we passed out just _looking_ at the captain? You're crazy, man."

"But we won before that, right?" I countered. "Anyway, this is the only squad I tried out for."

Hiroki snorted. "You pissed off the Captain and now you're stuck with him? This is too good."

"That's only if he gets accepted," Hideki added.

"Damned if I do, damned if…umm….what was I saying?"

The twins burst out laughing.

"Looks like he's still a little confused," Hiroki gasped between laughs. That set them both going again.

"Whatever," I grumbled, sticking a pillow over my head. I hate laying in bed; I couldn't wait to get out of there.

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The twins hung out for a few hours, but right as I got the okay to leave, they took off.

"Sorry man, we totally forgot about 12th Div ride-along," Hiroki shouted over his shoulder.

"Yeah, and I really want to get in there," Hideki added, "so we need to get there early!" The two of them disappeared around a corner.

"Aww, man," I said to no one in particular. I'd wanted to be on 12th Division for years…or at least months. Well, maybe I'd only decided for sure like a few weeks ago, but I'd been thinking about it since first year.

Oh well. Guess that wasn't going to happen.

The nurse led me out to the front desk and checked me out of the hospital barracks, reminding me to avoid any serious battles or kidou for the next few days, to avoid further reishi poisoning.

Right, like I was planning to go attack the nearest Captain for fun.

Anyway, by the time I got out of that stupid hospital, I had very little time to get to the cafeteria before the lunch lines shut down, so I jogged all the way there. When I arrived, out of breath, at the outdoor lunch tables, Akemi, Kaede, Ran and Raiko sat at the usual spot, with one addition – Tamotsu.

The mousey-haired kid joined our little group back in 4th year, at Kaede's invitation, and ever since the Rebellion had been "part of the group." I say that in quotations because he still sort of did his own thing, and only came around once in awhile, but he was welcome with us when he did. I didn't really care one way or another about him, but Kaede once told me she thought he saved my life once during the rebellion when I wasn't paying attention, so I thought I ought to be grateful.

In any case, Tamotsu being there didn't throw me off for long, because there were more important things to worry about – such as not having eaten for a little over a day. Luckily, it seemed as if word of my return had arrived before me. Akemi motioned me over before I could run off to the lunch line and pointed at a full tray.

"I met the twins on their way to the ride-along and they said you were on your way," she explained, as I shoveled salad into my mouth and washed it down with miso soup. "I was worried you'd get here too late, so…"

"Yur za besht," I said through a mouthful of potatoes.

On the other side of Akemi, Ran, Raiko, Kaede and Tamotsu were engaged in some sort of serious discussion.

"I'm quite sure that's what I heard," Tamotsu said.

"No way!" Ran shook her head, and translated for Raiko. "She doesn't think so either. Roka wasn't even that strong."

Tamotsu shook his head. "It's not about strength though, right? It's about communication."

Kaede nodded. "That's right. And you have to admit that if nothing else, Roka was always really good at mediation. I think that may have given him an advantage."

"Okay, okay," I said finally, breaking to take a couple of deep breaths before inhaling the rest of my lunch. "I'm curious, what are you guys talking about?"

"6th Year Non-Advanced Class's Roka released his shikai today," Tamotsu said in a nice, level voice. He never seemed to get excited about much.

I, on the other hand, spit the miso soup I'd just slurped all over the table.

"What?? You can't be serious. We've only had them a couple days!"

"He's serious," said Kaede, taking a lengthy sip from her milk box. "I heard it too."

"People are even saying that the Commander General himself came and recruited him for the 1st Division!" Ran added. "New recruits never get chosen for 1st Division."

"I think that's a lie," Tamotsu said with a wave of his right hand. "About Roka, that is, not about the Division. He may have good communication, but his combat is still pretty sub-par, from what I've seen."

I nodded, gumbling, "I beat that punk all the time. I don't know how he could…" But I let that sentence end there, because gorging myself on the remaining potatoes seemed more important.

"Raiko wonders which one of us will get our shikai first," Ran translated. "Well, aside from Akemi of course."

"What do you mean aside from me?" I heard Akemi say under her breath, but the others weren't really paying attention.

"Isn't that obvious? I will," I volunteered, having shoved the last of my lunch into my mouth. I checked the clock. It was a new record – I'd never finished a full meal so fast.

Ran erupted into peals of laughter. Across from her, Tamotsu tried to hide a smile.

"Ouch," I said. "You don't need to laugh at me."

"But…it was….so funny!" she managed to squeak out between laughs.

"Whatever," I grumbled.

"I think it'll be one of the twins," Akemi said, out of nowhere.

"Raiko says it's gotta be Hiroki, then, since he's in the higher class."

"You're biased." Akemi grinned playfully. Raiko stuck out her toungue.

"She may be right though," Kaede offered.

"Well we know who it won't be," Tamotsu said, seriously at first, but then a grin slipped through.

"Who?" Ran asked.

"Me, of course," said Tamotsu, and everyone laughed.

Tamotsu was a mod soul – one of many stationed throughout Academy and Soul Society, many on a need-to-know basis. Tamotsu was technically still undercover, and most of our classmates thought he was a normal kid like the rest of us, but Kaede had guessed back in Year 4, so all of us knew. Mod souls, of course, couldn't form Soul Slayers; Tamotsu carried a basic Academy-issue katana instead, though it's not like he was defenseless. He's a mod soul, after all.

Something occurred to me. "Hey, that's why we didn't see you in the Swords final, isn't it?"

Akemi shot me a dirty look for some reason, but Tamotsu nodded. "Of course. Can't blow my cover. That many people, it's not like anyone would notice one student missing."

I thought he looked a little sad, right then…but it's probably just me.

"Hey," I said suddenly, something else occurring to me out of the blue. "Hideki and Hiroki are twins, right?"

Raiko gave me a withering look.

"Raiko says, duh," Ran translated helpfully.

"Yeah yeah," I said, waving off the comment. "What I mean is, are their Soul Slayers gonna be the same, or what?"

Everyone looked around at each other, then at Tamotsu. He had a knack for knowing things.

Tamotsu shrugged. "As far as I know, there have never been twins at Academy before. It may very well be unprecedented, and certainly undocumented."

I paused. "Well, those are big words, but I think I get it…"

Beside me, Akemi snickered.

"Raiko thinks they'll be different for sure," Ran said. "She says they're really different people, after all."

"Hmm," Kaede started. "I wonder…I mean, no one really knows how Soul Slayers are formed, after all. If there's some sort of genetic tie, then it would probably be the same."

Beside me, Akemi blinked really hard suddenly, as if she had an idea, but didn't say anything.

I chose to ignore it. "I'm with Kaede. Fifty bucks says their releases are the same."

"Raiko says you're on," Ran said. "I'd bet with her too, but I don't have any money."

"I don't really know," Kaede said, hesitating. "But…put me in the 'same' pile, with an extra 10 that says they discover their shikai on the same day."

"Ooo! It's getting exciting," I said. "Fine, I hear your ten, and I'll bet on the same day too."

"Different for Raiko."

"Toss me in with different release, but same day," Akemi said distractedly.

"Why not…I'll go with same, and same," Tamotsu said finally.

"Then it's settled." I grabbed a piece of scrap paper from my pocket and scribbled down names and bets. "Nobody goes back on their bets though, you hear?"

"Yeah yeah," said Kaede, and the conversation turned to other matters.

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I had one last exam that night – it was this stupid class called "Division Membership Preparation." Only the non-advanced class had to take it, and it was always some sort of "know your strengths, work together" mumbo-jumbo. Basically I'm pretty sure they were just preparing most of the class for the reality that they'd never be in a leadership position. But of course, that didn't apply to me. I was at the top of my class.

Well, the top of the Non-Advanced class. But still. It's not like I wanted a leadership position anyway. Too much hassle.

Anyway, I didn't feel like studying for such an idiotic exam, so I just went back to my room to rest for a bit, play some ping-pong against the wall, the usual. I was expecting Hideki and Hiroki back before dinner time rolled around, but they didn't show, so at dinner I just went back down to the table. Everyone was there who had been there that afternoon for lunch – total déjà vu.

Dinner was what we called "Bowl of Stuff". Akemi always complained that it was just their way to get rid of leftovers, by dumping all sorts of random crap over the top of rice and calling it good. But hey, I'm not picky – food is food.

Before I even had time to get settled and dig in, however, we were assaulted on both sides of the table by a very overly-excited Hideki and Hiroki.

"Guys, guys, you won't believe it!" they said at once, then glared at each other. "No, my news is more awesome! No, mine is!"

"Okay, chill out a moment, boys," Kaede said, standing and holding her arms out to silence them both. "Take a deep breath. Now, Hideki, you start."

"He was always your favorite," Hiroki said, sticking out his tounge.

"I'm going in alphabetical order, you idiot," Kaede retorted, then turned back to Hideki. "Well?"

"I got my shikai!"

"What? No way! _I_ got my shikai!" Hiroki shouted. They burst into argument.

"Interesting," said Tamotsu thoughtfully. "Guess you were right, Akemi."

Akemi nodded, appearing amused.

The twins were still arguing, until Raiko cut them off with a glare and signed.

"She says, no way guys, that's great!" Ran translated. "How'd it happen?"

"Well we were at the 12th Div Ride-Along," Hiroki started, "and Captain Izumi asked us how our finals had been."

Hideki jumped in, cutting him off. "And we told her about the 8th Division and the Captain attacking us and getting us sick."

"And," Hiroki jumped back in, with a glare, "she laughed and said, 'It's so like Koga to bring out people's abilities in such a violent way.'"

"And _I_ said, 'What do you mean?'"

"And she said, 'His spirit pressure is so high that it makes people feel their own even more. Why do you think one of you was cold and the other was hot? Different spirit pressures.'"

"Wait, wait, hold on a minute," I jumped in. "How come that didn't work for me? I just got all confused and amnesia-y."

"That's because you're an idiot," said Hiroki. "Clearly it brought out your latent stupidity."

"Not like it's that latent," Hideki added with a snark.

I went to punch them both, but Akemi held me back. "So? What then?"

"Well, I don't know about this idiot," Hideki said with a jab at his brother, "but when I got home just now I was thinking about it, and I decided to try meditating with that weird poisoned feeling in mind. Remember what it felt like, you know? And suddenly, it came to me."

"No way!" said Hiroki. "That's how it came to me!"

"Like you're even capable of having an epiphany," Hideki retorted.

"Like you're even capable of having a shikai!" Hiroki shot back.

"Boys, boys!" Kaede cut in again. "Who really cares?"

"We do!" they shouted at once.

Raiko sighed, and "spoke" to Ran. "She says that either way it's really impressive, and you guys should be proud. Oh, and she wants to see them. Yeah, me too!"

"Fine, but I'm going first," said Hiroki.

"No way, I got mine first! I should go first!"

Kaede rolled her eyes. "It probably happened at exactly the same time for both of you…though that _would_ mean I would win ten dollars from Raiko," she added with a smile. Raiko's lips pursed. "Either way, we can't do it here. What if something gets damaged? Too many people."

"What about the park?" said Tamotsu. I jumped. He hadn't spoken for so long, I almost forgot he was there. That seemed to happen a lot with him.

"Yeah! Let's go! I'll beat you there!" the twins said in unison.

"Wait a minute!" I said, jumping up. "We just sat down for dinner! I haven't even touched my Bowl of Stuff yet! That's an outrage."

"That may be a bit of an exaggeration," said Akemi, "but he's right. Let's finish our dinner, and then we can run over to the park before the 13th Div ride-along. There should be time."

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As soon as we finished dinner, we all rushed over to the nearest park outside the Academy grounds. There was only a little bit of time until Kaede, Tamotsu, the twins and Akemi all had their last ride-along exam with the 13th Division; at the same time, Raiko and Ran and I would be taking our DMP class exam, so we didn't exactly have time to loiter.

Nonetheless, I had to admit, I was kind of excited…not to mention a bit jealous. Then again, I was about to win a whole lot of money when the twins released identical Soul Slayers. And why wouldn't they, when they released at exactly the same time? I'd already been right about that.

We all formed a line in the middle of a clearing, and Hiroki and Hideki stood facing each other in front of us.

"All right, boys," Kaede said. "To avoid arguing, we'll have you both go at the same time. Ready?"

"Ready," they both said, swords drawn, starting each other down.

"On three. One, two….THREE!"

"Ganshoumaru!" shouted Hiroki.

At the same time: "Toppuumaru!" said Hideki.

"See, different," said Akemi.

Then we looked to see what happened. Both swords had transformed from simple katanas into their shikai forms.

Hiroki's was a pirate-esque saber, blade sharp and intricately decorated, sash flowing from the handle.

Hideki's was….the same.

"HaHA!" I said. "I was right! They're totally the same!"

"STOP COPYING ME!" both boys shouted.

"Nu-uh," Ran said, pointing. "Raiko says, look carefully."

Sure enough, as both of them brought their swords over for closer inspection (so we could see whose was better, of course), we saw the slight difference. Hiroki's blade was tinted red, his sash red and orange; Hiroki's was blue, the sash blue and green. The decoration etched into Hiroki's blade flared like petals or flame; Hideki's was also etched, but his flowed more, like wind or water. Both were very stylized, but looked pretty deadly.

"So…" said Akemi. "What do they do?"

"Do?" said Hiroki, looking confused. "What do you mean, do?....um, what I mean is, well mine is totally awesome and…"

"We don't know," Hideki broke in. "At least, I know I don't."

Hiroki looked as if he was about to argue, but nodded.

"Come on, guys," said Hideki. "It's not like we've really had time to train with

them yet. We've had them like an hour!"

Kaede glanced at me, and leaned over to speak so the twins couldn't hear. "You know what this means, right?"

"Right! Er…what does it mean?"

She sighed. "We'll have to put off the bet. If we don't know what they can do, we don't really know if they're the same, do we?"

"Oh," I said. "I guess not. But Raiko still owes us money for it happening on the same day…"

The twins both transformed their swords back. I noticed both of their hilts and sheaths retained unique designs, despite being normal katanas. It reminded me of how Akemi's was always all blue and silvery.

"Raiko says they're both really impressive, and you guys should be proud."

Raiko nodded, and planted a kiss on Hiroki's cheek, which turned red.

"Yeah, guys, that's really cool," Akemi said. Something bugged me when she said that, but I couldn't place it. "We'd better hurry though, or we'll all be late."

Everyone agreed, and we broke off into two groups, one group headed back to the Academy for our last exam, and the other toward 13th Division Headquarters on the opposite side of Seireitei.

I didn't realize what was bugging me until way later that night, but while I was sitting in my room after my exam, it came to me. The way Akemi congratulated the twins right before we left…it sounded kind of, I don't know…sad.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: This ridiculously long and totally awesome chapter comes to you to make up for the complete fail of the last two short little things. I hope you like it.

I had to try something different here, I think it speaks for itself, but if there's confusion let me know and I'll try to fix it up…

Find And Replace hates me as well, so if you spot any issues where there isn't space between two words, let me know and I'll fix it.

There's a joke later in the chapter that non-japanese-speakers may not get – When the Vice talks about "that model being complete" and the Captain says "apparently," she's referring to Tamotsu's name, which actually does _mean_ "complete." Anyway, without further ado…

PS I'm sorry for the random _deus ex machina _in the last chapter…I KNOW it was really contrived, but I forgot to include it earlier, so I'm sorry, but there was no other way…….

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Chapter 7

I couldn't believe it. The twins both had their shikai. I mean, I know I predicted one of them would be first, but that didn't mean I expected them both to magically acquire them later that day. I figured it would be months, or a year later…

Sure, everybody seemed to _think_ I had mine. That only made things more frustrating, somehow…I didn't even know my sword's name. I'd never even spoken with it. The sword's decoration was a fluke, or something…but everyone was expecting so much of me, and no one would listen when I told them it wasn't true.

I was disappointing people again. Just like back in 4th year. Just like the Rebellion.

Hurrying down the road to the 13th Division Headquarters with Kaede, Hiroki, Hideki and Tamotsu, I let out a sigh. Kaede was too busy chatting with the boys about their method of shikai discovery. But Tamotsu noticed.

"Akemi-san? What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing, really, Tamotsu-kun. I just…"

"…feel inadequate?"

I shot him a look. "How did you…?"

He patted the sheath at his side. The sheath for his ordinary, Academy-issue practice katana. "I don't even have a _zanpakutou_, remember? Not even a non-release."

"Oh." My cheeks reddened and I looked away.

"Hey, it's no big," Tamotsu said, with a small smile. "After all, I've got better kidou than most Captains." His grin widened at that. "Anyway, I'm just saying, I get it. But you should try to be happy with what you _do_ have."

I nodded, and smiled at him. "Yeah. I just wonder what I…"

"Hey, we're here," Hiroki said suddenly, pointing ahead. A group of Academy 6th years and shinigami gathered just outside the 13th Division Headquarters main gate.

"Come on," Hiroki said, leading the way. The rest of us followed.

Visible in the center of the group was Captain Mochizuki Airi, silver hair flashing in the evening's dimming light. She wandered around the group, taking names and checking them off of a list.

"Hey, Captain! Check it out. Akemi-chan brought friends, this time!"

My cheeks reddened unwittingly at the sound of the voice; I recognized it from 1st year.

"Vi…Vice Captain Shihouin," I said, bowing stiffly before I even located him in the crowd.

He saved me the trouble by striding over and ruffling my hair. "No need to be so formal, kid."

The rest of my company bowed as well. From beside me, Kaede whispered, "Do you _know_ him?"

"Um, sort of," I said, straightening to look the Vice in the eye, face still feeling slightly warm. "His family knows mine."

"Ah," Kaede said. "Kobayashi Kaede, sir. Please take care of us today."

"Of course," Vice Captain Tsubasa said with a grin, eyeing me again playfully before gesturing at the Captain. "All of you check in quick. I think you're the last ones to show up."

"I hope we aren't late," Kaede said, showing the Captain her name on the list.

"We were busy showing off our new shikais," Hiroki said.

Hideki hit him over the head. "Quit bragging, bragger."

"Bragger? That's the best you could come up with?"

"Quit arguing, both of you," I hissed, turning to smile sweetly at the Captain and Vice. I really wanted onto this Division; it was no time to be messing around.

Captain Mochizuki finished checking the boys' names off her list, then straightened and surveyed the group. "Okay, it looks as if we're all here. Let's head off to the 12th Division, then."

Everyone started talking at once.

"12th Division? Aren't we being examined for 13th?"

"Why can't we have the exam here?"

"Maybe she's crazy…"

"Um, Captain?" came Tsubasa's voice over the ruckus. "Shouldn't we explain what we're doing first?"

The Captain paused, and sighed. "Well, I was going to wait until we got there, but since we seem to have a lot of impatient children in this group, I suppose we can tell them now." Several 6th years cringed under her criticism, but I caught the wink she aimed at Shihouin-san. "Actually, why don't you fill them in, Tsubasa-kun?"

He nodded. "Very well. Here's the deal – we want to test your limits. As a shinigami you'll engage in the unexpected at every turn, and you have to be able to handle it as well as, or even better than, those things that are routine. I'm sure you've all had various standard exams with the other divisions; well, we're not them. So for our exam, we've asked the 12th Division to cook up some…unexpected tests for you."

As he spoke, our group made its way down the road to the 12th Division, which luckily wasn't too far away.

"Speaking of which, you'll be doing your exam in teams," he continued. "You can pick your own teams, so I'd advise you put some thought into it on our way over. We'll want to get started as soon as we get there."

"Awesome!" Hiroki said. "I'll be my own team."

"You can't be your own team, baka," Hideki said. "That's the whole point in having teams."

"Ah, yes," the Vice Captain added, apparently overhearing the argument. "You will have to have at least two people per team to complete the exam, and there have to be four teams so I'd recommend at least five of you…"

Tamotsu looked to me.

"The usual?" I asked, looking to Kaede.

"Why not? Hide, Hiro, you guys in?"

"Sure," said Hideki.

"I would have been fine on my own…" said Hiroki, but in the end he agreed.

"Good, then, we're decided," I said.

Around us, as we neared the 12th Division Science and Research Complex, the others were dividing into groups as well. A 12th Division shinigami saw us coming and opened the gate to let us into the courtyard, then led us to the Research Complex and used a low-level kidou key to open the door. All of us filed in to find a darkened hallway two stories high. On the left of the hallway, a black wall rose halfway to the ceiling; the rest of the way up remained open, so one could see into those rooms – if one could get high enough. On the wall were four doors, spaced as if to lead to four different rooms.

On the right, a single staircase led up. On the second story was a glass-enclosed room – I assumed it was designed to be an observation deck – from there, one would be high enough to see over the wall on the left and into the closed-off rooms.

"This is the 12th Division's field-testing facility," the Captain explained as we all gazed around. "The glass room is how they observe potentially dangerous experiments; it is also how the Vice Captain and I will observe you today.

"Inside those four rooms to your left, we've set up identical training courses. Each of your teams must complete the course in order to pass the test. In addition, bonus points will be given to the team who completes first – we also have a prize for the members of that team."

"What's the prize?" someone called out.

"You'll find out if you win," the Captain said with a lilted smile. "In any case, as you can see, the rooms have been blacked out, so you don't know what to expect. I'd like each group to please select a leader. The leader will be allowed into the observation deck and will be able to see the layout of the exam, and report back to the group before the exam begins. However, the leader will not be allowed to participate in the exam once it begins, so please choose carefully."

"Won't be allowed to participate…" I mumbled, looking to Kaede. "What do they mean by that? How are they supposed to lead if they can't participate?"

Kaede shrugged. "It doesn't matter, does it? We have to pick one either way. My vote's with Akemi," she added to the group.

"I'm okay with that," Tamotsu agreed.

"I should be the leader!" Hiroki broke in, prompting an argument with Hideki that took us another minute and a half to break up. Finally, Kaede turned to me.

"Well?"

I shook my head. "No. It should be you, Kaede."

"But we voted."

"Think about it," I said. "You're the one with the most experience handling lots of people at once, thanks to your family in Rukongai. Me? I've been an only child most of my life. You do it."

"I don't know…"

"Has everyone decided?" Tsubasa called out. "If the leaders would please follow me upstairs…"

"Go!" I said, shoving Kaede after him. She hesitated, but followed, eyes narrowed as she climbed the stairs.

"Now what?" Hiroki asked, turning to me.

"Now we wait."

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I have to admit I was shocked when Akemi asked me to be the leader, but as I climbed the stairs I couldn't argue with her reasoning. Especially with both the twins in our group, we would need someone used to handling them, and paying attention to many things at once…

Akemi was a smart girl, and I couldn't help but feel that should have qualified her for the leadership role. Nonetheless, as it had been given to me, I vowed to do my best.

At the top of the stairs, the handsome Vice Captain opened a door for me and the other three group leaders, and held it open for us as we passed, giving me a reassuring grin. I hoped that didn't mean my nerves were showing.

The room we entered had numerous control panels, almost all of them turned off; a few 12th Division shinigami sat at boards that apparently controlled power and lighting, and a large timer sat at 0:00 in the center of the room, but otherwise the space was bare. The Vice Captain ushered us over to the vast window on the far side of the room, and allowed us to take seats at the shut-off control panels. A sheet of paper with detailed blueprints lay on the panel in front of each of our seats.

"Those are the blueprints for the exam space," the Vice explained, moving forward and gazing out the window at the real thing. "Feel free to look at them as much as you like, and to compare them to the rooms below; you'll get the idea fairly quickly, I'm sure."

I glanced out the window and back down at the blueprint – sure enough, they were the same.

"There are a few rules," Vice Captain Shihouin said suddenly, glancing at each of us. "If you don't follow them, your entire team will be disqualified. You are allowed to tell your teammates what to expect and arrange them as you wish; however, seeing as the answers to the puzzles are detailed on those blueprints, keep in mind that you are not allowed to give answers, or even hints to the answers, to your teammates. Also, all your teammates – you excepting, of course – must cross the finish line together for the victory to count. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

I examined the blueprints once more. This wouldn't be easy. But I was a lucky leader; my team was strong and diverse. I believed in them.

After a few moments, I was pretty sure I had the layout down and had formulated a good enough plan – one that took into account both accuracy and speed. I smiled. If I had this sorted out right, it would mean my team was unbeatable…but they had to do their parts.

I stood, bowed to the Vice Captain, and ran down the stairs to where my team waited, standing in front of a door labeled with a large "2".

"All right everyone, huddle up."

They gathered in close, and we spoke in low voices.

"So? What's the deal?" Hiroki asked.

"I'm not allowed to tell you much," I admitted. "It won't be easy, in any case, but I've got a plan. If you guys stick to it, you should be the fastest finishers by far."

Akemi nodded. "Just tell us what to do."

"All right. I'm allowed to tell you that you'll start out with three keys; you'll need them to open the doors you come across. There are three rooms. Each room has a challenge, and if you pass the challenge you get another key. You'll need three keys to finish the exam; you'll lose one at each door, but you'll gain one after each challenge is passed, so in other words, you need to pass each challenge in order to finish the exam."

"Okay…I think I get it," said Hiroki, brow furrowed.

"Anyway, I expect most of the other groups will take on the challenge in each room all together, but I don't want you guys to do that."

"You mean split up?" Akemi asked.

"Yeah. Here's what I want you to do. In room one, all of you will be there to help, but in the end Tamotsu will have to be the one to…well, I can't tell you more than that, but that should be enough. Anyway, once you reach room two, Akemi and Hiroki will deal with the Room 2 challenge. I want Tamotsu and Hideki to run ahead and go into the next room without them. You two boys will handle the Room 3 challenge. When you're done, all of you meet in Room 3 and pass through the last door together. Got it?"

"Um, I think so…" said Hiroki again. I wasn't so sure he got it.

Fortunately, the other 3 seemed to have the basic grasp.

"All of us handle Room 1," said Hideki. "Hiro and Akemi get Room 2 while we Tamotsu and I get Room 3, and then we all meet as soon as we're done?"

I nodded. "That's right. Just trust me on this, that's the most time-efficient way to handle it. I'm not allowed to join you, of course, but I'll be upstairs cheering you on."

"Two minutes to start," the Vice Captain's voice came over a loudspeaker. "If the group leaders would please finish up and come upstairs. Oh, and it seems Group 4 is disqualified."

Horrified groans and protestations came from the far corner of the hallway.

"I'm sorry," the voice over the loudspeaker said. "But I'm afraid the rules were quite clear. No giving answers out to the team. One minute to start."

"I'll see you guys later," I said, patting Hiroki on the shoulder and giving Akemi a confident nod. "I believe in you."

I headed up the stairs to find a good chair from which I could watch my team. I had a lot riding on them, after all.

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"Well, that was weird," Hiroki said, looking after Kaede as she headed up the stairs.

I shrugged. "'Expect the unexpected,' right? If she could tell us everything, it wouldn't be unexpected, now would it?"

Hideki nodded, but Hiroki still looked confused.

"I think I get it," said Tamotsu. "She's dividing us up by our strengths. But I don't think we'll be able to understand until we get in there."

"If everyone could please stand by. Take the three keys at the left of your entrance, please. You will need one to get through the first door. Is everyone ready?"

I walked over to the small table by the door and picked up the three keys, handing one to Hiroki and one to Tamotsu. "I don't know what to expect in there, but if we need these to pass we may want to split them up."

They nodded.

"Standby. Power on." Some lights came on from somewhere in the rooms we were about to enter; the light radiated over the half-wall. "Stopwatch clock ready. And…..begin!"

I rushed over the door and stuck the key-card I had been holding into a card-reader on the door. The card was sucked out of my hand and into the door, disappearing. The door opened immediately, and the four of us hurried into the first room.

Room One was well-lit, and mostly empty. In the middle was a small, round statue, sort of like some sort of large coin propped up at a 45 degree angle from the ground.

Hideki glanced at me. "Do you think it's safe to get closer?"

I shrugged. "Just be ready to move in case something happens, but I think we have to get close enough to do something no matter what…"

Tamotsu approached the statue ahead of the rest of us, then paused. "Hey guys? There's something written here. I think it's a riddle."

"A riddle?" Hiroki asked. "What sort of an exam is this anyway…"

Hideki stepped up, seeing that neither Tamotsu or Hiroki had been sucked into any sort of abyss nor had any traps appeared. He read aloud. "'A soul you have, but none for me – give me your soul, and I'll give you my key!' And in the smooth part in the center is the character for 'sacrifice'."

Hiroki sputtered. "They want one of us to _die _to move ahead? That's ridiculous!"

Hideki still examined the stone. "It certainly seems that way…"

"…but that doesn't make sense, right?" I finished for him. "That's what I was thinking, too. There's no reason for a Division to kill off the people applying for it."

"Yeah. It's like 8th Div," Hiroki said. "At first that crazy Captain said it was battle royale to the death, but that would have been stupid. All they really wanted was a battle to first –"

"Blood!" Hideki shouted, so much that I jumped a few inches. "First blood! That's what they mean by sacrifice."

"I'll do it," I said with a small shudder. I didn't have to like it, but someone had to…

"Naw, I've got it," said Hiroki, pulling out his red-and-orange decorated katana and slitting the tip of one of his fingers before I could stop him. He smeared it across the kanji for 'sacrifice' on the stone.

All four of us stood there and waited, but nothing happened.

"I don't get it," I said, shaking my head to clear it. "That made plenty of sense…"

All this time, Tamotsu had done nothing but watch. Suddenly, he moved toward the statue and ran his fingers across 'sacrifice.' "Akemi. I think we have it wrong," he said. His voice sounded slightly forced. He looked at me, eyes darker than their normal shade. "It says it wants a 'soul' here. But you and I both have blood, right? So can a soul reside in blood?"

I understood where he was going, but I wasn't sure I liked it. "But won't we be at a disadvantage if one of us -"

While the twins stared at us, uncomprehending, Tamotsu shook his head. "No, we won't. Remember who we're working with here, Akemi-san. Kaede-san said I would have to be the one. If I do it, we won't be…"

"Okay, would somebody please tell me what's going on here?" Hiroki finally said.

"It wants a Soul Slayer," I said, lips pressed thin.

"I think my sword will do, though," Tamotsu added. "It's what Kaede implied, anyway. I'll try." Tamotsu pulled his Academy-issue blade out of its sheath, held it overhead, and plunged it blade-first into the center of the rock.

It slid in as if the rock was no more than mud, right up to the hilt. Almost instantly, a small compartment materialized in the side of the statue. I reached in and took the key from inside.

Tamotsu tried to pull the sword back out of the statue, but this time it wouldn't budge. "As I expected," he said. "It's stuck for now. Oh well…no big loss, really."

"I'm sure you'll get it back after the exam," I said. "But that took awhile…I think we should hurry forward." We all stepped toward the door at the back of the room, and Hiroki took out his key and slid it into the door's lock. Like the one before, it disappeared into the door, and the door slid open.

Room 2 was almost completely dark – there was only residual light from the other rooms filtering in over the half-wall – but I could make out the dim shapes of obstacles that had been placed randomly in the room. It seemed to be set up a bit like an outdoor park – trees, large rocks, water hazards and the like. It was much larger than the last room.

Then I heard a roar the made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"Was that…a roar?" Hideki asked, looking suddenly concerned. "Hollow sims…don't roar, do they?"

"They couldn't possibly put a real Hollow in a half enclosure and expect it to follow orders…" Tamotsu said.

"Shush!" I hissed under my breath. "If it's a sim, its an advanced one and we don't know what it's capable of. If it's real, it can hear well for sure. Kaede said Hiroki and I can handle this." I took the key out of my pocket and shoved it at Hideki. "Here, take this. I don't want it to get damaged. You and Tamotsu head around the perimeter, as close to the wall as you can, and don't be seen! Get into that next room and get to work. We'll distract the Hollow."

"Distract?" Hiroki demanded as the others took off. "I don't want to be Hollow bait!"

"We have to make sure the others get to work quickly, if we're trusting Kaede, and I do. So man up." I drew my sword.

Shooting me an indignant look through the darkness, Hiroki drew his too, and for good measure added, "Ganshoumaru!" transforming the sword into its saber form. "Fine. I'll be the bait, you take it out."

Hiroki jumped further into the center of the room, then shouted, "Hey Hollow! Come and get it! Bet you can't handle my shikai!"

Almost before I could ready myself, a huge roar shook the room and a large _thunk_ reverberated from the floor in Hiroki's direction. I sprinted around to the right side of the monster and moved in, just in time to see Hiroki being thrown back ten feet through the air. Not having time to worry, I closed in on the Hollow, jumped up its left arm and onto its back, and attempted to shove my Soul Slayer into the back of its head.

My sword clanked against solid armor – a horned helmet, protecting the entire head – and before I could try to remove it, the Hollow reached up with shocking speed and swiped me off, sending me flying the same direction as Hiroki. I righted myself in the air and landed in a crouch next to him.

"It's a sim," he said. "I got a cut in on its arm and it hit solid metal about an inch down. I've never seen one so fast though."

"If it's a sim then the only way to shut it down is to strike the point on the back of its head." I cursed under my breath. It was a mechanism the 12th Div put on all sims, to encourage the use of lethal force on the back of the Hollow's head when shinigami used them for training. "Its head is protected, though. We'll have to get that helmet off."

"I'm stronger than you," Hiroki said. When I shot him a dirty look, he added, "What? You know I am. Anyway, you attack from the front and keep him busy. I'll jump up and take the helmet off the head, and then we can kill it. Got it?"

Another roar and vibrating earth coming our way indicated that the Hollow had located us.

"Crap. It can hear? And it can obviously see. I had no idea they'd been developing something so high quality… Break!" I shouted, as the Hollow crashed through a tree in front of the bushes where we'd been hiding. I sprang to my feet and tried to distract it to allow Hiroki to get on top, heading for its right arm (which was already damaged – I could see where Hiroki's cut had gone through), then ducking underneath when it took a swipe for me, heading for its chest, which had some sort of strange design on it. I couldn't kill it with a chest shot, but maybe I could slow it down…

I struck out my sword at its left upper chest, but before I could cut very deep it swiped me away again, then swatted Hiroki off its head.

I moved in once more, expecting to dodge a shot or two on my way in, but the Hollow was suddenly acting strange. Its gigantic arms waved aimlessly in the air. But right as I moved in for a crippling leg shot, my foot crunched against a twig on the ground and the Hollow swung right at me, batting me away. Hiroki took another attempt at the Hollow's helmet, but was batted away as well.

_The other two must have made it out safely by now…_ "Hiroki! Retreat!"

"What?" he sputtered from a few feet away from the Hollow's back, but it spun and swung at him again, and he followed me quickly into a corner of the room, behind another set of bushes.

"What?" he demanded again, this time quietly. "How can we get the key if we don't defeat it?"

"We will defeat it," I said. "Haven't you noticed? It's blind now."

"It sure wasn't when it first attacked me!" he said. "How the hell is it blind now?"

"I saw something," I said, working on a hunch. "It has a 5-cornered shape on its chest, and it was hard to see well but there seemed to kanji at each corner. It was right after I scratched one with my sword that he went blind. I couldn't read it for sure, but…"

Hiroki wasn't considered the smartest kid on the block, perhaps, but he was in the Advanced Class for a reason. "Wait. You think those kanji on its chest mark controls for its senses?"

"That's my guess."

"Then how come it's still attacking so well?"

"It can still hear us."

Hiroki thought about that. "Let's both try to attack it from the front this time, and aim for the ear kanji. If it's blind and deaf, maybe we can get close enough to catch it by surprise and take it down."

"Got it."

Both of us drew our swords and went running at the Hollow, which got its attention. I slashed at one arm, distracting the blind and enraged Hollow long enough that it didn't notice Hiroki headed at its belly. Hiroki got a slash in at the kanji for "ear", though the Hollow, feeling pain, knew he was close and swatted him away. Still, we seemed to be on the right track; when Hiroki landed in the bushes nearby with a crash, the Hollow didn't jolt at the noise.

"Hiroki! Now!"

Hiroki jumped up and leapt onto the Hollow's head, but was swatted away again. The Hollow gave a mighty roar the shook the ground.

"No good! It doesn't help at all!"

_Sight…hearing…taste…_ I went through the senses in my mind and stopped dead. "Hiroki, we've been doing this all wrong. Go for touch!"

"Touch? What the…"

"What do you think paralysis is? Lack of feeling!" I said, not bothering to wait for him, and I got in close and slid my sword into the Hollow's chest, right through the kanji for "touch."

The Hollow froze.

So did Hiroki. "Akemi. You're a genius."

"Just help me get this helmet off!" I jumped up onto the head of the paralyzed Hollow and lifted as hard as I could. The helmet was made of bronze, and weighed a ton.

"Here." Hiroki joined me, heaved up the other corner of the helmet, and sent it tumbling to the ground. "Go ahead. You do the honors."

I raised my sword above my head and sent it down into the back of the Hollow sim's head. Seeing as it was a sim, it didn't disappear, but I felt it power down beneath my feet. A compartment slid open on the back of its head, revealing a key.

"Yes! We did it!" Hiroki said with a fist pump. "Come on, let's catch up with my loser brother and the mod soul kid. They probably need my help."

"Not if Kaede was right," I said, but together we jumped down from the Hollow and headed toward the door for Room 3.

kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Sitting in the observation deck, I shook my head and smiled.

The Vice Captain strode over and peered down into my team's enclosure. His eyes grew wide, and my smile grew as well.

"They're already nearly done with Room 3? How is that even possible? We had those Hollow sims built tougher than most normal Hollows, and the final puzzle should have slowed them down more than…"

"They split up, sir," I said, not bothering to gloss over my pride. "Akemi and Hiroki took on the Hollow. Tamotsu and Hideki have been working on the puzzle for ten minutes already. Working together is important, but knowing your strengths and weaknesses is more important…in my opinion, sir."

I gestured down at Room 2, where Hiroki and Akemi were just walking through the already-opened door into Room 3. Hideki and Tamotsu were at the far end of the room, facing a giant, almost human-sized chess board that had been placed on the wall.

The chess board was an ingenious invention, I had to give that much to 12th Division. Aside from being entirely electronic and voice-activated – so they didn't have to worry about real pieces falling off the wall – each square on the grid had been labeled with one of any varying level of kidou. In order to move a piece to a square, you first had to perform that kidou into a square hole in the wall, which would determine if the kidou was correct and allow you to move if it was.

"That was…a smart suggestion," Vice Captain Shihouin said, motioning the Captain over as well. He pressed a few buttons on a display to my right, which apparently had video of the whole exam stored; he rewound it a ways and watched the Hollow battle, talking in a low voice with the silver-haired captain. He then looked back at me.

"Little Akemi and your friend there fought well, and they figured out how to disable the Hollow faster than the other teams. I assume they are the best two fighters on your team?"

"For raw fighting ability, yes. Those two, and then probably myself," I admitted. "As far as tactics goes, that would be Akemi and Hideki, so I had to split them up."

"That explains how quickly they're getting through the chess puzzle," the Vice said to the captain, who nodded. "A tactician."

"Not exactly," I said absentmindedly, watching as Tamotsu apparently explained the exam to Akemi and Hiroki while Hideki pondered his next move. "Hideki's good at chess, but you intended for it to be harder than that, right?"

The Captain examined me closely, but said nothing.

Shihouin-fukutaichou grinned. "You're not so bad at tactics yourself, missy. Of course, the average student would be limited in the moves they can make on the chessboard, depending on which of the listed kidou they can actually perform. Some of the ones 12th Division listed would be impossible for an Academy student, no matter how good."

I laughed, then excused myself. "Sorry, Vice Captain. It's just that you don't seem to have done your research on this year's Academy students."

The Captain glanced out the window. "We wanted the exam to speak for itself, so you're right, we haven't looked at your files since we accepted you for the exam. However…"

I saw her eyes narrow as Tamotsu completed a kidou into the square hole.

"Yes, Captain. You're right."

"You knew?" She looked back at me. "I'd heard they were trying to keep it under wraps, which of course is why they didn't mention it on his application. The name, however, is a bit of a give-away." She eyed her Vice Captain and gave him a significant look.

"Oh," he said, and nodded. "Of course. I didn't realize they'd completed that model."

"Apparently so," the Captain said, her eyes back out on the floor.

"So of course I had him go ahead with Hideki," I explained. "This way Hideki isn't limited at all by his choices, and he can just play a normal game of chess. Which he's quite good at."

The Vice Captain laughed. "Haha, she is a smart one. That must be why he was the one to sacrifice his Soul Slayer, too…you know group 3 only made it through that step five minutes ago? Though I can't help but feel we made the exam too easy this year, eh Captain?"

She snorted, but grinned. "Apparently so."

Below, Tamotsu performed a Captain-level barrier kidou into the square hole, allowing Hideki to call checkmate. A hole opened up in the center square of the chess board, revealing the final key; as soon as Akemi took it, the entire chess board sunk into the floor, revealing an open door behind it.

All four of my teammates pass through the door to face a pedestal with a button on top; the button was encased in super-thick glass. Three keycard readers layered the front of the pedestal. The team slipped their three keys in one at a time. When the last keycard slipped away, the glass container opened. Hiroki pressed the button, and a timer by the computer screen to my right stopped ticking.

"Seventeen minutes and 23 seconds," the Vice Captain read. "Impressive."

Team 3 was still fighting the Hollow.

Team 1, working together, still seemed to have trouble coming up with enough kidou to allow their chess player to play freely.

I smiled. My team had won.

kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

After the other teams finished the exam (another entire team disqualified because they were unable to finish), the Captain and Vice Captain led us out into the 12th Division's courtyard, where the sky had darkened, but lamps lit our surroundings. The teams were all briefed and dismissed, except for ours.

"I said I had a special prize for the winning team," said Captain Mochizuki, a sparkle in her eye. "And indeed I do." She passed each of us a small box. I opened mine, and inside were two identical, decorated crystal cell phone straps. Mine were clear crystal, with a slight blue tint to the spacer beads, one clear thumbprint-sized flat crystal on the end of each.

"Keitai straps?" Hiroki said, raising an eyebrow at the captain. "You're giving us keitai straps? _Girly_ keitai straps??"

She laughed. "Perhaps, but these are no ordinary straps. The crystal on the end of each strap in the set is connected to the other crystal. No matter how far the distance between the two, if you press the crystal on one between your fingers, the other will light up, and send a type of kidou 'pulse' that will indicate the direction the other crystal is in. Use them how you want – I know Captain Izumi keeps one on her sword and one on her phone, so she can locate her phone when it's lost." The Captain laughed again. "Anyway, they're our gift to you, so use them wisely. You all did well today, so although I shouldn't really be saying this, you can expect to hear from us."

"Thank you, Captain," all of said with a bow.

"That is all. Dismissed."

"Yes, Captain."

The others turned to leave, as did the Captain, but the Vice Captain stopped me. "Hey, little Akemi."

I reddened, and turned to him with a frown.

"You did well today. Impressive, as I'd expect from you." He grinned.

"That may be, but…_sir_…I really wish you'd stop calling me that."

Tsubasa paused, then burst out laughing, which only caused me to turn a deeper shade of red. When he was under control enough to talk, he said, "Heh, I should have expected that, coming from you. Well, I guess, if it's bothering you."

I shook my head. "That's not it. It's just…I'd like to be treated like an equal, sir."

He looked amused. "Isn't that what I was doing? Using your first name?"

"I don't mean an equal to you, sir. I'm nowhere near that after all, no matter how well our families know each other," I added before he could protest. "I mean an equal to all the other recruits. I'm nothing special."

His eyebrow rose, and he leaned back against the railing of the Headquarters' deck. "Well now I highly doubt that. After all, not too many of you recruits have one of those." He gestured at my soul slayer.

I frowned. "Actually, I'm pretty sure we _have_ to have one of those, in order to qualify as recruits…sir."

He laughed again, and reached out to grab my sword from my belt so quickly that I couldn't stop him. "Would you stop with the 'sir'? You're making me feel old. And anyway, I didn't just mean a Soul Slayer. I meant _this_." He gestured at the blue-tinted sword, pulled it an inch out from its sheath, and ran his finger along the flat of the blade. "I mean, it's cold. Cold! How many people your year have releases already?"

"Three, sir," I said before I could catch myself. "I mean, three. But I'm not one of them."

He blinked, stared me down, then stared at my sword, then laughed again. "Well well. I never would have guessed. Do you know how rare it is for someone to hit pre-release form before they've discovered their shikai?"

"Um…I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," I said, grabbing my sword back from him rather forcefully and setting it back in its sheath. It may have been cold, but I was starting to feel more comfortable with it on.

"I see," he said, relaxing back onto the deck again. "Well it's rare, like I said, so I guess they wouldn't have bothered to tell you. You know how your twin friends have decorated sheaths and swords now, even when they aren't released?"

"Yeah," I said, unsure where he was going.

"That's an indication of how well they know their swords. It's why most captains and Vices, and even higher-level shinigami you see, have decorated swords and sheaths instead of the ones that look like standard Academy-issue swords.

"Now, normally their sealed swords only take on pre-release decoration once they've developed their shikai. But very occasionally, a shinigami will come to know its sword's spirit fairly well _before_ they know their sword's name. When that shinigami is especially powerful, it'll sometimes result in an early pre-release, like yours. Actually, I've only seen this once before…and old friend of mine from Academy. I think you've met her, actually." He chuckled. "Must have something to do with being the stubborn type…"

I took it all in for a moment in silence. Finally I said, "But I don't know my sword's spirit."

Tsubasa looked amused again, and I frowned. "You must. Otherwise this wouldn't happen." He laughed, and I blushed again. "I wouldn't have expected you to be so dense, but I guess everybody has something surprising up their sleeve. I'd work on my meditation, if I were you. If that still isn't working, come talk to me, and maybe I can direct you to my old friend. If she's willing to talk. Though I have a feeling you may end up there anyway…"

"I kind of wish you'd stop talking about me as if I wasn't here, _sir_," I added, with extra emphasis.

He laughed again, and ruffled my hair. I didn't bother to move away. "Of course, of course, _Akemi-chan_. Anyway, you'd better get going. You have make-up exams tomorrow, right? Go get some sleep, Sayuri."

"Yes, sir," I said bowing and backing out of the courtyard.

"See you at the banquet!" He called after me.

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On my way back to the dormitory, I thought over what Tsubasa had said. If he was right, I already knew my sword's spirit, but I couldn't imagine what he meant by that. If I had met the spirit, wouldn't I know?

I passed the park where the twins earlier released their Soul Slayers for all of us to see, and came to a halt. A cherry tree hung over the entrance to the park, in full bloom. As I stared at it, a bunch of things came together in my head.

_A shinigami will come to know a sword's spirit very well…_

_It must have something to do with being the stubborn type…_

_If there's some sort of genetic tie, then it would probably be the same…_

_I'd work on my meditation, if I were you…_

Meditation. Genetics. Of course, we didn't actually know if genetics played a role; Hide and Hiro's swords had been inconclusive about that. But it was enough to catch my thought.

I wandered into the park, silent at night, and sat down beneath the cherry blossom tree. I couldn't be sure, of course. But it was my best guess.

I settled into a comfortable meditation position, and moved my thoughts inside myself. After a few moments in which my thoughts were blank, I seemed to move into a snowed-over courtyard, cherry-blossom tree still inexplicably in bloom, bench in the corner by the tree.

On the bench sat my "Ancestor".

She smiled at me, less of a mocking smile than normal, and I knew right away that I'd been right.

I knelt in front of her, but she walked over to me and lifted my chin.

"Stand up, Akemi. We're all equals here."

"Hardly," I said, but I stood at her command. "You're not my ancestor, you're my –"

"Obviously, I know what I am." She laughed, and it sounded like music. "You knowing what I am, well that's a different matter entirely. I thought you'd never get it! You certainly are a dense student."

Standing, I bowed as low as I could. "Please…tell me your name. I promise, I'm ready to listen."

"Finally," she said with a small snort. "Well, if you promise to pay attention this time. My name…is Hyouka."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Saturday went by fast; everyone had make-up exams at different times, and the cafeteria was open all day to accommodate – a-la-carte meals. Thanks to that, I didn't see any of the others for most of the day, and after the exhausting Hand-to-Hand make-up exam I slept off most of the afternoon. I didn't say anything to anyone about my sword; it didn't seem practical when I didn't even know how to use it yet. I did spend awhile Saturday night in the park under the cherry tree again, allowing Hyouka to tutor me in the basics of my new weapon, which was admittedly quite foreign to me. I knew it would be a long while before I'd master it, but now that she wasn't being quite so mysterious and frustrating, I actually enjoyed her company.

Sunday morning came around and I realized I'd been out under the cherry tree all night; the spring air was pleasantly warm and I'd fallen asleep there, exhausted from my spirit-form's exercises, which were as grueling as if I'd done them myself. I made my way back to the dormitory in the early morning light, and snuck into the dorm room, hoping Raiko wouldn't wake.

Unfortunately, Raiko had a good ear, and within seconds was at her bedroom door, looking out at me. She scribbled on a piece of paper (I never had mastered sign language, though I could occasionally get the basic point) and handed it over.

You've been out all night, she wrote. Is everything okay?

"Yeah," I said, with my first genuine smile in awhile. I lowered my voice so the neighboring duplex couldn't hear, and added, "I found my release, Raiko. My shikai."

She looked perplexed, and wrote, I thought you already had your shikai?

"No, no," I said with a wave of my hand. "I've been trying to tell you all that. But I talked to 13th's Vice Captain on Friday, and he gave me an idea. I found her Friday night."

Why didn't you tell me sooner?

"I didn't have a chance," I said. "Everyone was so busy yesterday. But…don't spread it around, okay? I'm not very good with her yet, so I don't really want everyone to know."

Okay. But promise you'll show me later?

"I promise." I smiled. "I'm just so relieved. There was so much pressure when everyone thought I had it and I didn't!"

She nodded, then grinned, and wrote, Just don't let Hiroki know he really was the first of us to get his shikai. It'll go to his head.

"Heh. Wouldn't dream of it."

It's a little early, she wrote, but how about breakfast?

"Sure. They should be posting grades and ride-along results this morning too, so it'll probably be more crowded than normal. We can save a place for the others."

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Apparently, the others were all either anxious or suffering from nerves, because despite the early hour, within about a half hour everyone had gathered at our usual table, in the corner of the outdoor area. The chefs had decided to give us a nice send-off, with a grand breakfast menu, and they took pity on us by opening early. All of us settled down to our breakfast – I chose the more traditional miso soup, tamagoyaki and rice, but added some French strawberry crepes on the side for fun – and tried really hard not to think about the inevitable.

About halfway through the meal, an Academy first-year appeared carrying a vast list of names, grades and ranks for every Academy exam. The Swordsmanship exam had of course been pass/fail, but we had been given ranks based on our class work to aid the Divisions in evaluating us in such a crucial area. Every 6th year student in the cafeteria crowded around the bulletin board, and it took a few minutes to get in close enough to see. I sighed with relief when I did; I was near the top of the class in every subject except kidou, and I made passing grades in that, which was about all I was going to hope for.

The others didn't discuss grades so much, although we established quickly that nobody had flunked out of anything (Raiko had even made the top half of the ranks in Kidou, to her delight). Hideki and Hiroki then proceeded to argue for the next half hour about whose scores were better.

"I scored way higher in tactics than you did," Hideki said.

"Yeah? Well I was in a harder class than you, so it evens out. And I totally scored higher on Swordsmanship," Hiroki countered.

"You had better training in your class!"

"You were just too lazy to go through it."

"Hey! I scored better than both of you on that exam!" Taiki said. "I think I'm stronger than both of you, so stop arguing."

"I don't care if you're stronger, I care if I'm stronger than him," said Hideki.

"But we could both totally kick your ass," Hiroki added.

"Finally something you both agree on," Kaede said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey look!" Ran said, jumping up in her seat. We all followed her gaze to a line of low-ranked shinigami – 13 of them to be exact – filing into the cafeteria, over to the bulletin board, and posting sheets of paper.

"The acceptance lists…" I said, almost not wanting to know.

But apparently I was alone in that, because once again, the entire contingent of 6th years in the room went racing up to the bulletin board, crowding around it, cheering or groaning or yelling across the room to their friends.

I let the others rush over ahead of me and took my time; I wasn't in the mood for body-surfing just to find out my results.

Raiko was the first to make it over, and she signed to Ran from the middle of the crowd. Ran, beside me, started jumping up and down.

"I made it! I made it into 4th Division! Oh, and Raiko made it too, she says."

I gave Raiko and appreciative smile, and she smiled back, happier than I'd seen her in awhile.

Taiki and Hiroki tried to push their way in, but the rest of us hung back, waiting until the crowd thinned, then moved in all at once.

I went to 13th Division first, scanning the list of names. "Hey, guys," I called out, not sure if they were listening anyway. "We all made it into 13th." I couldn't help the warm glow I got when saying that. My first choice…I'd made my first choice!

A few sheets to my left, Taiki pumped a fist. "All right! I got in!" Then he paused and looked at me. "Oh shit. The Captain has it out for me and I got in. I'm so screwed."

"You should be grateful you at least got into a Division," I said. "You know, considering you didn't apply."

"I did too apply," he said. "Late…but…yeah…"

I laughed and moved down the row to the 10th Division sheet, where Ran already stood on tip-toes trying to read. "Akemi-chan, I can't see. Can you read it for me?"

I leaned in. "Yeah, Ran. You're on there."

"All right!"

"But…" I paused, frowned, and checked the list again. "…I'm not."

Ran stared up at me, wide-eyed, then burst into hysterical laughter. "You…failed….a…_picnic??_" she finally got out.

"You did what?" Taiki asked. A couple of people nearby snickered.

"It's gotta be a mistake," I muttered. The list was huge. It hardly looked like they failed anyone. How on earth do you fail a picnic?

"Oh, man, Akemi," Hiroki said. "That's brutal." He was laughing too, until I shot him a look.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway," I said, moving down the line. "I got into my first choice. I'm not sure I wanted in to 10th Division anyway."

I reached the 6th Division post, which looked to have no more than five names, and hesitated. Honestly, I wasn't sure whether I wanted my name to be on that list or not.

It was.

I sighed, from relief or consternation I'm not entirely sure.

The others had moved away from the boards (except for Raiko, who was still reading out results to Ran) and were engaged in lively conversation about their results. Even Tamotsu had wandered over, though we hadn't seen him all morning. I sauntered over.

"Well, since I made it onto the 13th Division, that's my obvious choice," Tamotsu was saying.

"What about 12th?" Kaede asked.

"I've had enough of them." He lowered his voice a little. "Look, I mean I know they made me, and I'm grateful, but I don't necessarily like everything they do over there. 13th Div has a good reputation with mod-souls, so I'd rather go where I'll be fully appreciated." He looked at me as I joined them. "You got on too, right, Akemi?"

"I did," I said, hesitating.

"That was your first choice, right?" said Ran, who walked up, Raiko trailing, having finally finished finding all her results.

"It was," I said.

"Raiko says, 'but?'"

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "I just think I need to think on it for awhile."

"Well we don't have very long to decide," Hideki said.

"Like it's that hard to choose," Taiki said.

"You only got accepted to one squad, you idiot," Hiroki said. "Of course it isn't hard for you."

"I'll have you know that 8th Division was my first choice."

"Liar," I said.

"Shut up."

"What about you boys?" Kaede asked. "Have you decided?"

"Thirteenth," they both said at once, then glared at each other. "Stop copying me!"

"That's good," she said. "It will be nice for you to be together."

"Says you," Hiroki whined.

"And you'll get to be with Tamotsu-kun as well."

"Well, that won't be so bad," said Hideki. "It's dealing with my stupid – "

"Enough, already," I said, cutting him off. "Raiko, I assume you're accepting 4th?"

"She says of course," translated Ran, who smiled. "I think I'm going to accept them too. It'll be great to stay around Raiko-chan and translate for her, and the Captain and Vice Captain are super nice!"

I glanced around the group. "Kaede? You haven't said anything yet."

She smiled lightly. "I'm going to join the 11th Division."

"The _11__th__ Division?_" Taiki, the twins and I all sputtered at once.

"You're joining the fighter's division?" Hideki clarified, eying Kaede like he didn't know her at all. "You're joking. Right? I was sure you'd take 13th."

Kaede shrugged. "I spent a lot of time talking with the Captain after the exam, and a lot of things he said made sense to me. I like their style."

All of us just stared at her for a moment, then laughed.

"Well, if that's what you want, then congratulations," I said, patting her on the shoulder. "It looks like pretty much everyone got what they wanted…"

"Hey," Taiki broke in. "You know what this means?"

"That we're real shinigami?" said Hideki.

"That the banquet tonight is gonna rock?" said Hiroki.

"No, no, none of that. I mean we're all going to be on different Divisions now."

"Not all of us," Tamotsu interjected. "13th seems to be a popular squad."

"You know what I mean! We're going our separate ways! Growing up and crap! Gah, this sucks."

I glanced around at the group of friends who'd gotten me through six years of Academy, endless grueling classes, favoritism and taunting and a Mod-Soul Rebellion that had nearly left some of us dead, multiple times. I knew what Taiki meant.

"You know, we should totally agree to meet up. Like once a week, for dinner or something."

Everyone fell silent and stared at Taiki.

"That's…a really good idea for once, Taiki," Hiroki said.

"Yeah!" Taiki said. "I mean, wait, what do you mean 'for once'?"

"It is," Kaede said. "I know we'll all be busy, but we should try to find an evening when we're all free and we can meet up."

"It is a good idea," Hideki admitted.

"Raiko says that when everyone knows their schedules, they should tell her, and she'll make the arrangements," Ran translated. "I'm so happy we'll still get to hang out! I'm gonna miss you guys." She gave Kaede a hug, and I remembered just how long those two had been in each others' company – Ran had been part of Kaede's "family" in Rukongai for years before they joined Academy.

It couldn't be helped though…I can't imagine little Ran would have lasted long in the fighter's Division.

"Come on," Hiroki said. "Let's go pick up the acceptance forms so we can get them handed in on time. We've only got a few hours, right?"

We followed Hiroki down the hall to the office to pick up the forms. But when I stared at the blank form in front of me, it became more obvious than ever that I didn't know what number I'd be filling in under "Division".

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I sat in my room staring at the sheet of paper through most of the morning; when no answer magically appeared to me, I returned to my new favorite meditation spot, the tree in the park. I settled in, and dove into myself.

Hyouka sat polishing her weapon on the bench when I entered the spirit-courtyard; she looked up at my entrance. "Back so soon? I thought you were otherwise occupied today. It is graduation day, isn't it?"

I plopped down on the ground, folded my legs, and sighed. "I have to turn in my acceptance form, but I'm not sure who to give it to."

"The secretary at the Division you're applying to," she said.

"You know that's not what I mean."

"Perhaps, but I don't see the problem."

"I got into both 6th Division and 13th Division," I said. "Of course my first choice was 13th, so I should go there, right?"

"Then why are you hesitating?" She set the weapon down on the ground and leaned back on her hands, letting one leg dangle from the bench.

I scowled at her. "You know why! You're the one who's been bugging me to join 6th this whole time! And now that I know who you are, it's not like I can just ignore you."

"You say that," she said, gazing lazily at the sky, "but you do it fairly well normally. Hmm, looks like snow again…"

"Can we focus, please?"

"No need to be so snippy. It's like I said, I'm not sure why you're here. You've heard my opinion, but it _is _your Division. I'm not going to tell you what to do, only what I think you should do."

I snorted. "Big help you are."

"I'm just part of you, after all. What good is it arguing with yourself?"

I sighed, and stood. I still felt uneasy, but her last comment had a point. "You're right, as usual. I'm just putting off the inevitable. I'll go turn in my form."

"Very good," she said, slight smile on her face, and she leaned over to pick up her weapon once again. "Come back soon, though. You're still horrific with this weapon after all. I have so much to teach you."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, wandering back through the courtyard gate and out of my dream state. "I'll miss you too."

I opened my eyes, and the ground of the park came back into focus. On the grass at my left, propped against one of the sakura tree's roots, the application form stared me down.

I drew a pen from my pocket, reached over, and into the Division spot wrote the number, "13."


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: Yes, another Akemi chapter. I just couldn't figure out a better way to do it. As it were, this one's been sitting on my computer for awhile finished, I just forgot to upload it. So the next chapter (Taiki) is already in progress.

I'm in the middle of a wedding (15th) and a move to Japan (22nd) so forgive me if I don't upload for awhile – but I'll be writing!

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Chapter 9

Not a half hour after I put in my application at the 13th Division, we all gathered in the Main Courtyard. I gasped when I entered through the gates – the place had been transformed, a large stage set up with velvet curtains and all the trappings, with two huge main tables set lengthwise across the stage as seating for the Gotei 13 Captains and Vice Captains, one behind the other. A podium sat at the front of the stage; a large banner congratulating the graduates was strung across the top.

All through the courtyard round tables had been set up with white and black tablecloths and place settings, a formal affair for the graduates to sit at. Down either side of the courtyard, and around the back of the graduates' area, were chairs and bleachers set up for families and friends of the graduates and Academy alumni to sit if they wished to attend.

I stood at the entrance taking it all in as the crowd filled in around me. Almost all the bleachers were already filled by the time I arrived, and most of the Captains and Vice Captains already sat in their seats at the head tables, chatting amongst themselves.

A small, blue head of hair poked its way toward me through the crowd, amongst the tables, and waved an enthusiastic hand my direction.

"Akemi-nee-chan! We've got a table already, over here! But you should hurry, it's filling up fast."

"Okay, Ran," I said, making my way toward her as she turned and skipped off the other direction. But as I followed, something else caught my eye…something that made me stop in my tracks.

"Akemi, dear!"

_No. Please, anyone but them._

_I suppose they _would_ come, though, wouldn't they?_

"Hi…mother. Father." I tried just waving and walking away, hoping to disappear into the crowd, but they weren't about to allow that. Right as I spotted the table where Ran now sat with the rest of my friends, I felt my mother's hand on my shoulder.

"Akemi, dear. Surely you must have a few moments to speak with your parents before the ceremony. We haven't seen you for so long!"

"I didn't know you were aware of the ceremony," I said, through gritted teeth.

"Well it certainly didn't help that your invitation must have been lost in the mail," my father replied, pulling up in front of me. "But the Fon family has a child graduating too, I'm sure you know, so of course we were aware of the ceremony anyway."

"Of course," I said, looking to my table for help. Taiki and Raiko stood up, coming to my aid.

"You must be mister and misses Sayuri," Taiki said with a grin, holding out a strong hand for a shake. "Masuyo Taiki. It's a pleasure."

"That's _master_ and _misses_ Sayuri to you," my mother said, pulling her hand closer to her body in apparent distaste.

"Masuyo…I've never heard of them," my father said, in an apparent attempt to be a bit more polite than my mother.

A failed attempt, but nonetheless, it didn't seem to shake Taiki. "Not yet, you haven't. But just wait – I enter the 8th Division today, so it's only a matter of time."

"8th Division?" my mother asked, wrinkling her nose.

Raiko wrote on a pad of paper, and handed it over to me.

I hate to say it, she wrote, but your parents remind me a bit of Koji-sempai.

I handed the notebook back to her, and whispered in her ear, "Why do you think I don't go home for holidays if I can avoid it?"

She giggled.

"You know, it is usually considered rude to exclude people from a conversation," my father said, eyeing the notebook.

"Kinoyama's mute," I explained, addressing Raiko by her family name for the sake of my parents. "She can't communicate any other way."

"Kinoyama?" my mother asked. "Masuyo? I've never heard of either of those clans. Akemi, dear, just who have you been associating with all this time? And here I thought you had been with Daiho-san and his group…"

"Daiho?" Taiki asked, making an unpleasant face. "You mean that Koji kid? Ug. She was, but the guy's a jerk. She's better off for having left them."

"What he means is, I haven't seen Daiho-san for some time," I said, trying to placate the situation, but it was too late.

"The Daiho clan may not be high nobility, but at least they have noble roots!" my mother exclaimed. "Certainly more noble than some nobody who'd join the 8th Division with that crazy creature of a Captain…"

"Hey! Captain Koga isn't….well okay, he's crazy, but he's strong, too," Taiki answered, defensive. "I think he'll make a great –"

"Um, Taiki, Raiko, I think we should go sit down now," I said, stepping in between my friends and my parents. "Mom, dad, why don't you go find a seat? It looks like they're about to begin, the Commander General just arrived…"

My ploy, thankfully, worked. My parents both looked up to the decorated stage to see the Commander General take his seat at the center of the forward table, and then glanced skeptically into the bleachers.

"She's probably right," my father said after a minute. "But," he said, looking back at me as my parents turned off toward the bleachers, "don't think this conversation is over, Akemi."

"Yes, father," I said, gritting my teeth and following my friends back to the round table, where they'd saved me a seat.

"Dude, Akemi," Hiroki said from his chair next to where Raiko once again took a seat. "Your parents are intense."

"I was hoping they wouldn't come," I admitted. "I guess that was too much to hope for."

"They are your parents," Kaede said, staring idly into the crowds. "You can't expect them to miss their only daughter's graduation."

"Did any of your family make it?" I asked, correctly intuiting her gaze.

She smiled. "I haven't seen them yet, but Satoshi and Ritsuka are out there somewhere."

"Really?" Ran's eyes lit up. "I didn't know they were coming! I knew a couple of Raiko's family would be here…"

I looked to Raiko, and she nodded and smiled. That explained her exceptional mood – then again, so could the fact that she was about to enter the 4th Division, her dream.

I smiled, too. I would be entering 13th, so there was plenty for me to be happy about as well…

"Welcome, one and all, to the graduation ceremonies for the 6th year Academy Classes of Soul Society Year –"

The magnified voice of the Commander General commanded all the attention of the students and audience, and as he continued on, a thick silence fell over the crowd. His young, yellow-haired Vice Captain standing silent behind him, the Commander General lauded us on our achievements, reminded us of our impeding duties, and wished us the best of luck. He then took a long list out of his white robe's deep pocket.

"I will now proceed to announce the graduates in the order of the Divisions they will enter. If you could please make your way up to the stage when I call your name, my Vice Captain will hand you your diploma. Thank you. Now for a special announcement."

"Special?" Kaede asked, looking at me. I shrugged.

"This year, for the first time in many years, an Academy graduate has been recruited directly to the Kidou Corps Division. As this is an especially rare and lauded achievement, I wish to give this graduate special recognition. Miss Itagaki Ume, if you could please approach the stage…"

"No. Way," I said, putting my head in my hands.

"Raiko says that she hates to say it, but that's kind of impressive," Ran said.

"It is," I groaned. "Upstaged again…"

"It's not upstaging, really," Kaede said from across the table, as Ume reached the stage and positively glowed as the Commander General shook her hand. "Kidou is simply her thing. You know you could beat her in hand to hand combat or sword combat, every time, Akemi."

"Heh," said Taiki. "Even _I _can beat Ume."

"Sure," I said. "But I'm also not the first in generations to be accepted to some special squad, and I'm bound to hear from my parents over that. They'll already probably hate me for joining 13th Division over 6th…"

While we ignored him, the Commander General had proceeded well into the 2nd Division's new recruits. A small line of graduates formed to his right, reached the Vice Captain in turn, shook his hand and took their diploma, then smiled or waved at the crowd. A few minutes later, the Commander General reached the 4th Division, and both Ran and Raiko stood to receive their diplomas. Our whole table hooted and hollered for both of them, especially as Kaede watched Ran wave her new diploma wildly over her head.

As they made their way back to us, the Commander General entered into the 5th Division. We didn't expect to hear any of us called for awhile, so I zoned out a bit, scanning the bleachers for people I knew, my parents included. I thought maybe I could avoid them after the ceremony if I knew where they were sitting, but that wouldn't be possible unless I could –

Kaede nudged me. "Akemi. That's you."

"Huh?"

"Raiko says she thought you decided on the 13th Division," Ran translated.

"I did."

"But they just called your name," Hideki said.

"What?"

"6th Division: Agatsuma Ryu, Sayuri Akemi, and Fon Taki," the Commander General was repeating, when he didn't see three people stand immediately.

_What?_

"There must be a mistake," I said, shaking my head.

"You'd probably best go get your diploma anyway," Kaede reasoned. "They won't call your name again, even if it is a mistake."

"Hmm…you're probably right," I said, standing and making my way to the front. When I reached the stage, I glanced over at Watabe-taichou, but her face was unreadable.

"Many congratulations," the Commander General said as I passed, and his Vice shook my hand and gave me my diploma.

I bowed to the audience and to the Captains and Vice Captains, then made my way back to my seat, unrolling my diploma to glance over it. It said nothing about my intended Division.

_It must just be a paperwork error,_ I thought as I took my seat again, and my friends gave me slightly confused congratulations. _I'll go talk to Airi-taichou as soon as the ceremony is over._

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I put the mistake out of my mind for awhile to cheer on my friends as, one by one, they paraded up to the stage and accepted their diplomas. After Raiko, Ran and myself, there was Taiki, headed to the 8th Division; Kaede to the 11th; Hideki, Hiroki and Tamotsu all to 13th. It was as Taiki said earlier: we were all going our separate ways. Out into the world to do good. It was a huge moment for each of us.

Following the passing of the diplomas, lunch was passed to each table on platters – simple food, but delicious. While we ate, many of the Captains and our teachers gave speeches about our time in the Academy, upcoming challenges – things we'd heard a thousand times before, but were likely valued by our many supporters in the audience.

Then, as we all finished up our meals, the Commander General took the stage once again to say a few parting words of encouragement, and to lay out the schedule for the evening. We were all to remove our things from our dormitory rooms and report to our respective divisions – we would have two hours for that. Then, each division would lead us through afternoon exercises ("They'll probably be deciding on our Seating," Kaede said.), allow us to get situated in the dormitories at our new location, and finally each division would hold a banquet to welcome its new recruits.

The Commander General thanked everyone for coming, congratulated our class once again, and left the podium. This seemed to be the cue for people to start making their way out of the courtyard, as those in the bleachers rose almost all at once and began to head for their students, or for the exit. The students at the tables seemed to linger a bit longer, perhaps feeling, as my group felt, that they didn't know when they would see their friends again.

Though I wanted nothing more than to linger those extra few moments with my friends, I had more pressing matters to attend to. A quick glance in the direction of my parents showed them coming my way, slowly, against the grain of the crowd; another in the direction of the stage showed most of the officers loitering a bit, talking amongst themselves or with our various instructors, but a few (including Koga-taichou) left almost immediately. I had to hurry.

With a quick, apologetic wave at my friends, I dodged through the crowd and made my way up to the stage. Airi-taichou was nowhere to be seen, but she wasn't really the one I was looking for anyway, I realized; when I spotted Shihouin Tsubasa, I knew he was the one I'd wanted to talk to from the beginning.

I sidled up next to him, waiting for him to finish speaking with the new third-year kidou instructor, and waited silently at attention. Finally he glanced over and, seeing me, excused himself from his other conversation. The instructor moved off to speak with someone else.

Turning to me, Tsubasa smiled. "Ah, Sayuri. I was expecting you."

"You were?" I started, but then stopped myself, bowing in the proper manner and continuing, "I mean, I'm very sorry, Vice Captain, but there seems to have been a mistake. You see…"

Tsubasa patted my head in his annoying way, nodding. "Don't you worry about it, little Akemi. I know there was all sorts of pressure from your family, and though I would have enjoyed having you with us, of course I've known for days you'd be with 6th."

I straightened. "Excuse me?"

"Look, I said don't worry over it, okay? Paperwork errors happen. I don't know why your paperwork still came through to our division, but like I said, I've known for days so it's no big. In any case, I trust you'll be in good care."

I was a bit too confused to follow, but not so much that I didn't catch the way his final statement was directed over my head. Turning, I saw the 6th Division Vice Captain, Mori, walking up behind me. She smiled in greeting at Tsubasa, with a friendly nod my direction. I bowed, not exactly sure what to say.

"You will take care of her, right, Ayuko?" Tsubasa asked. "She's an old family friend, you know. I was kind of hoping we'd get her, but I have a feeling she'll be better off with you."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Mori said, with a sparkle in her eye that made me feel some sort of inside joke was being told at my expense. I was beginning to get uncomfortable with everyone talking as if I weren't present when Mori turned to me. "I'll admit I was surprised at first, but I hadn't realized your parents had been talking with the Captain."

"My…parents." Understanding began to dawn on me.

"I'm starting to think we weren't your first choice," Mori continued, with a glance at both me and Tsubasa. "Regardless, I hope you won't hold it against us. I believe I've said before, not all of us at 6th are like the Captain." Something caught Mori's eye, past Tsubasa, and she nodded at us both. "If you'll excuse me. Sayuri, I'll see you in a few hours."

She walked away, leaving me awkwardly facing Tsubasa. There was no time for further conversation, however. My new Vice had said just enough.

"My apologies, Vice Captain, but if you'll excuse me as well…"

I bowed, and he nodded, a vaguely amused lilt to his mouth, as I backed away a few feet then turned and hurried through the crowd. My friends still stood at our table, and both Raiko and Taiki gave me confused looks as I passed in a huff, but there was no time for that, either. I went straight for my parents, who I spotted easily enough, deep in conversation with some of the Fon clan.

_No reason to be polite about it._ I charged right up to them, slipped in front of the Fon family and practically yelled.

"_What_ did you _do?_"

"Akemi, dear," my mother began, appearing downright horrified. "This is hardly the polite way to…"

"I couldn't care less what's the polite thing to do right now, mother. I asked you, what did you do?"

My father glanced at my mother, fidgeting. "Now, Akemi, calm down for a moment and explain what's gotten you so agitated, would you?"

I put my hands on my hips. "You know very well what I'm talking about. Sixth Division? I didn't even _apply _for the 6th Division!"

My mother pursed her lips. "Yes, and you know, that certainly made for a more difficult sell. Watabe-taichou said you had acted particularly ungrateful for the opportunity given to you at your ride-along, and…"

"Ungrateful? I….She…." I was speechless.

"Luckily for you, your mother is a skilled diplomat," my father said, unphased. "It only took her a few tea sessions with the Kikuchi and Shihouin families to garner their support for the idea – the Omaedas and the Watabes have become far too powerful in the 6th lately, after all – and with their support, of course there was nothing that Watabe-taichou could say."

"You're…..you're telling me I've been accepted – no, forced – into a Division where the Captain doesn't even _want_ me? You had to blackmail her?"

"I'd hardly call it blackmail, dear," my mother said, with a nervous glance at the Fon family, who was still within hearing distance. Then again, if the Shihouins supported the move, there would hardly be anything to worry about… "Common diplomacy, that's all. It's for the good of everyone. And I hardly see what there is to be so upset over. If not for us, you wouldn't have been accepted."

"Into a Division I don't want to be in!" I said, throwing my arms up in the air. "You know what, forget it. I have to go pack." Without even a nod at my parents, and only the slightest bow toward the Fons, I turned and left.


End file.
